YouTube removes 'hate speech' videos from InfoWars Published duration 26 July 2018

image copyright Getty Images image caption Alex Jones has won a large following for promoting conspiracy theories

YouTube has taken down four videos posted by the conspiracy theory channel Infowars.

In the videos, the host of the channel, Alex Jones, criticises Muslim immigrants to Europe and also denounces a transgender cartoon.

One of the clips shows a man pushing a child to the floor.

In addition, Infowars has been hit by a penalty known as a "community strike", which stops it broadcasting live for 90 days.

Conspiracy theories

News about the removals came first from Infowars, which said they were deleted because they were "critical of liberalism".

The videos have been posted separately to the main Infowars website. Mr Jones said people should watch them and make up their own mind about the content.

In two of the clips, Mr Jones said many European nations were in danger of being taken over by Muslim immigrants and in another he compared the creators of the "Drag Tots" cartoon to Satanists.

YouTube did not comment directly on the removal of the videos but told Reuters: "We have long-standing policies against child endangerment and hate speech."

It added: "We apply our policies consistently according to the content in the videos, regardless of the speaker or the channel."

Infowars could be permanently thrown off YouTube if it receives two more community strikes within the next three months. The channel received a strike in February which has now expired.

More than 2.4 million people subscribe to Mr Jones' channel on YouTube.

He has been widely criticised for repeating theories that the 9/11 attacks were staged by the US government.

Mr Jones has also claimed that many of children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre were actors. The parents of two children shot in that attack are suing him for defamation, saying he had made "false, cruel, and dangerous assertions".