Rumble responds to a letter sent to CEO Chris Pavlowsky by the UK Parliament regarding Russell Brand's content on their platform, and the accusations made against him by the Sunday Times, and Channel 4's Dispatches.
00:00:00.360Hi everybody, this is Gatsad. Yesterday I posted a clip regarding the Russell Brand accusations that were levied against him.
00:00:13.440Today I just saw some additional information that I thought would be worth to do a follow-up episode on.
00:00:21.900So this is a letter that Rumble received. For those of you who don't know, Rumble is a video clip platform that has tried to offer an alternative to YouTube.
00:00:39.760And for the sake of transparency, I should mention that Rumble was kind enough to contact me a while ago to offer me a deal to join them.
00:00:51.900I haven't yet joined for reasons that really have to do with scheduling. If I commit to signing with a company, I want to be able to give it my all.
00:01:02.260And I have so many obligations that I always felt somewhat tepid to agree to the deal.
00:01:08.200But this is to say that they really are doing some wonderful things. There are many content creators that have moved their stuff to Rumble, one of whom is Russell Brand.
00:01:19.800And so today, Rumble received the following letter from Culture, Media and Sport Community, the House of Commons in the UK, addressed to Chris Pavlovsky, the Chief Executive Officer of Rumble.
00:01:36.880This was signed by Dame Carolyn Dinanage. I don't know how to pronounce her name.
00:01:50.160So Dear Chris, I'm writing concerning the serious allegations regarding Russell Brand and the context of his being a content provider on Rumble with more than 1.4 million followers.
00:02:01.940The Culture, Media and Sport Committee is raising questions with the broadcasters and production companies who previously employed Mr. Brand to examine both the culture of the industry in the past and whether that culture still prevails today.
00:02:15.700However, we are also looking at his use of social media, including on Rumble, where he issued his preemptive response to the accusation made against him by the Sunday Times and Channel 4's dispatches.
00:02:27.840While we recognize that Rumble is not the creator of the content published by Mr. Brand, we are concerned that he may be able to profit from his content on the platform.
00:02:38.300We would be grateful if you could confirm whether Mr. Brand is able to monetize his content, including his videos relating to the serious accusations against him.
00:02:48.720If so, we would like to know whether Rumble intends to join YouTube in suspending Mr. Brand's ability to earn money on the platform.
00:02:57.020We would also like to know what Rumble is doing to ensure that creators are not able to use the platform to undermine the welfare of victims of inappropriate and potentially illegal behavior.
00:03:13.000So, here is a, from the House of Parliament in the United States, they are writing to a company, I believe that Rumble is now a public company, and saying,
00:03:27.240hey, there is a person who does business with you, he's been accused of certain things, and so, you know, we're asking you to intervene and remove his ability to earn money.
00:03:37.460So, again, the deontological principle of presumption of innocence doesn't apply.
00:03:43.940There have been some accusations, and therefore, he must be ended.
00:04:03.820Today, we received an extremely disturbing letter from a committee chair in the UK Parliament.
00:04:11.700While Rumble obviously deplores sexual assault, rape, and all serious crimes, and believes that both alleged victims and the accused are entitled to a full and serious investigation,
00:04:22.880it is vital to note that recent allegations against Russell Brand have nothing to do with content on Rumble's platform.
00:04:29.500Just yesterday, YouTube announced that based solely on these media accusations, it was barring Mr. Brand from monetizing his video content.
00:04:40.020Rumble stands for very different values.
00:04:42.500We have devoted ourselves to the vital cause of defending a free internet, meaning an internet where no one arbitrarily dictates which ideas can or cannot be heard,
00:04:54.000or which citizens may or may not be entitled to a platform.
00:04:57.660We regard it as deeply inappropriate and dangerous that the UK Parliament would attempt to control who is allowed to speak on our platform or to earn a living from doing so.
00:05:10.340Singling out an individual and demanding his ban is even more disturbing, given the absence of any connection between the allegations and his content on Rumble.
00:05:21.280We don't agree with the behavior of many Rumble creators, but we refuse to penalize them for actions that have nothing to do with our platform.
00:05:30.380Although it may be politically and socially easier for Rumble to join a cancel culture mob, doing so would be a violation of our company's values and mission.
00:05:40.700We emphatically reject the UK Parliament's demands.
00:05:51.920What makes the West historically great is that it allowed for the flourishing of a set of unique deontological principles that were inviolable.
00:06:07.060And it is this bedrock of foundational principles that allowed the West to be an anomaly in the history of the human condition.
00:06:19.120It's precisely because there were these principles such as presumption of innocence, such as freedom of conscience, such as freedom of speech,
00:06:27.760an absolute defense of freedom of speech.
00:06:30.100Not what Jacinda Ardern or the former New Zealand Prime Minister just uttered grotesquely.
00:06:39.620And I think at some United Nations thing, you know, we have to control misinformation and disinformation for, you know,
00:06:45.960you're because you're a bunch of, you know, rubes and deplorables and the great unwashed.
00:06:51.840And it's for us to tell you what is right or wrong.
00:06:54.160The reflex to cancel people, the reflex to shut the voices of those with whom we disagree if we are in power is as instinctual as humans having two eyes.
00:07:09.980That's the default value of the human condition, regrettably.
00:07:13.160And therefore, what we're seeing today in the West is exactly the story of our entire history.
00:07:22.800But in the past, it was emperors and dictators and autocrats and kings and theocrats that decided who gets to live, who gets to die, who gets to speak, who doesn't get to speak, who's holding the right position, who's not.
00:08:17.100It is cloaked in the robe of progressivism.
00:08:19.880And so kudos to Rumble for having stood firmly in defense of these deontological principles.
00:08:27.860And if I can do anything to free up my schedule and go back to Rumble and see if I can connect with them in a professional manner, I'll certainly will do that.
00:08:39.000Because this is how you ultimately reward the companies that stand for good values.
00:08:48.420Whereas those that don't support these fundamental deontological principles, those are the companies that you should perhaps think about not doing business with.