Controversial far-right commentator Candace Owens has been suspended from YouTube and demonetized from its platform for a week.
This is after multiple videos on her channel were deemed to have violated the platform’s hate speech policies.
Owens, who is known for her polarizing views, shared the news on her Facebook page, confirming that her YouTube account had been demonetized and her videos removed.
Owens explained that three of her videos, including an interview with rapper Kanye West and a debate with author and media host Rabbi Shmuley, were flagged for spreading harmful content.
One of the videos, titled “Kanye West (Ye) x Candace Owens | Candace Ep 42,” was specifically removed for promoting an antisemitic conspiracy theory suggesting that Jewish people control the media, a violation of YouTube’s terms of service. The platform prohibits content that promotes hate or conspiracies targeting individuals or groups based on their protected group status.
In response, Owens wrote:
“As you can see, today I received three back-to-back emails—informing me that my videos were being taken down.”
She also expressed frustration over her demonetization from the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), which enables content creators to earn revenue from ads on their videos.
Owens’ representative, Mitchell P. Jackson, told USA Today that her channel had not received any strikes until the day of the suspension, when all three strikes were issued simultaneously.
He suggested that the suspension was the result of a mass-reporting campaign encouraged by a user on X (formerly Twitter), calling it a “threat to free speech.”
YouTube spokesperson Jack Malon confirmed that Owens’ account had been suspended from the YPP due to repeated violations of the platform’s Advertiser-Friendly Guidelines and Community Guidelines.
Malon emphasized that YouTube holds monetized channels to a “high bar” and reserves the right to suspend accounts that repeatedly breach policy. Owens will have the opportunity to reapply for monetization after 90 days, provided she addresses the content issues that led to her suspension.
Despite the suspension, Owens has not shown interest in reconciling with YouTube. In a post on X, she accused “radicals” and “Zionists” of mass reporting her content. She also claimed that Kanye West’s interview, in which he spoke about unity, was misrepresented as promoting hate.
Owens and West have a history of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories. Owens has previously made controversial claims about “secret Jewish gangs” in Hollywood, and she has faced backlash for her defense of West after his infamous 2022 comments on Alex Jones’ Infowars, where he praised Hitler and Nazis.
