YouTube removes three prominent white supremacist channels

The company also terminated over 25,000 channels for violating hate speech policies

YouTube is part of tech giant Google (Getty)

YouTube has banned a number of prominent users from its platform after introducing new rules aimed at fighting racism and white supremacy.

David Duke, former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and Richard Spencer, an American neo-Nazi, both had their accounts suspended.

Stefan Molyneux, a Canadian white nationalist who has been accused of promoting ‘scientific racism’, also had his account removed.

These channels, a YouTube spokesperson told The Verge, repeatedly violated the platform’s policies by claiming that members of minority groups were inferior.

“We have strict policies prohibiting hate speech on YouTube, and terminate any channel that repeatedly or egregiously violates those policies,” a YouTube spokesperson told the site.

“After updating our guidelines to better address supremacist content, we saw a 5x spike in video removals and have terminated over 25,000 channels for violating our hate speech policies.”

Both Richard Spencer and Stefan Molyneux took to Twitter to complain about their suspensions. Spencer said that he would appeal the suspension, and claimed the move was part of a “systemic, coordinated effort.”

Molyneux, meanwhile, made a video statement, echoing Spencer’s views and claiming that he was looking for “rational solutions … to social distances”.

His channel has been criticised for promoting a racist, transphobic, misogynistic and Islamophobic agenda.

The Independent has reached out to David Duke for comment.

YouTube has not always been seen as an ally to minority creators or viewers. A group of Black YouTubers are currently suing the platform, alleging it has been systematically removing their content without explanation.

The company has also been accused of discriminating against content from LGBT+ groups.

YouTube's decision comes as other social media companies are clamping down on right-wing accounts which violate their policies.

Reddit recently banned the community r/The_Donald for repeatedly breaking its rules as the community became a hub for white supremacist and racist content.

Twitch also removed Donald Trump’s account for “hateful conduct”.

A broadcast of a 2015 campaign event in which Mr Trump claimed Mexico is responsible for an influx of drugs and crime in the US, and a recent rally in Tulsa where he described a criminal as a “very tough hombre”, violated Twitch’s terms of service.