YouTube, Twitter and Facebook remove Steve Bannon video calling for violence against Fauci

Twitter also bans the account of the podcast, War Room Pandemic.

Richard Nieva Former senior reporter

Richard Nieva was a senior reporter for CNET News, focusing on Google and Yahoo. He previously worked for PandoDaily and Fortune Magazine, and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, on CNNMoney.com and on CJR.org.

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Richard Nieva

Queenie Wong

Nov. 5, 2020 8:28 p.m. PT

2 min read

Twitter , YouTube and Facebook took action against the account of Steve Bannon's podcast on Thursday evening, after the former White House chief strategist called for the beheading of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert.

In the video, Bannon says the heads of Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray should be displayed on pikes at the White House "as a warning to federal bureaucrats."

Twitter said it "permanently suspended" the account, @WarRoomPandemic, for violating its policy against glorifying violence.

YouTube said it took down the video for breaking rules against inciting violence, and issued a strike against the account. Under the Google-owned video platform's three-strikes policy, the offender cannot upload videos for at least a week after the violation.

Facebook, which Bannon used to livestream the podcast, said it removed two videos from his official page for breaking rules around inciting violence.

Read more: Complete election coverage

Bannon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The takedowns come as the US anxiously awaits the results of Tuesday's presidential election. As vote count continues, tech giants have sought to police their platforms against misinformation and toxic content. Twitter and Facebook have flagged posts by President Donald Trump, who has baselessly claimed the election was marred by voter fraud. YouTube has been criticized for refusing to take down two videos by One America News, a far-right news organization that falsely declared victory for Trump.

In response to the Bannon video on Thursday, YouTube spokesman Alex Joseph said, "We will continue to be vigilant as we enforce our policies in the post-election period."