In a shocking move late Tuesday, YouTube removed the channel of Sovereign Media, a Nairobi-based independent anti-imperialist media outlet, without prior notice.

Sovereign Media is a key member of an anti-imperialist media coalition in Africa, launched to amplify voices from alternative platforms, including Black Agenda Report and Orinoco Tribune, covering global conflicts, resistance movements, and anti-war protests through an anti-colonial and socialist lens.

The takedown coincided with the opening day of the “Forward Africa” French-African summit in Nairobi, according to a statement put out by the media platform.

Sovereign Media had recently provided coverage of protests linked to the Pan-African Summit Against Imperialism, a gathering opposing French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Kenya.

YouTube – owned by Google – has faced sustained criticism from journalists and human rights organizations for systematically suppressing, deleting, or shadow-banning pro-Palestinian and anti-imperialist content and documentation of human rights abuses…

“This is appalling censorship. Also, if you want to know what truly scares the establishment, and has the power to truly end the corruption and abuse from people in power, watch who they censor, diminish and demonise,” wrote another user on X.