Rand Paul Turns Against Section 230, Citing YouTube Video Accusing Him of Taking Money From Maduro
“Paul is understandably upset about a video about him that has been posted to YouTube.
The video “is a calculated lie, falsely accusing me of taking money from Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro,” wrote Paul in the Post. “It is, of course, a ludicrous accusation, but paid trolls are daily spreading this lie across the internet. This untruth is essentially an accusation of treason, which then leads the internet mob to call for my death.”
In short, it is “a provably false defamatory video,” according to Paul.
Defamation is a crime. And Paul is not without options for addressing it.
For one, he can use his own speech—as he is doing—to counter the false information. Paul has his own channels of communication, huge audiences on social media, and relatively easy access to mainstream media outlets, like the Post. He is not without options for correcting the record here.
He could also threaten to sue the creators(s) of the video. Sometimes, the threat of legal action is enough to get results—and in fact, that’s what happened here.
“The individual who posted the video finally took down the video under threat of legal penalty,” per Paul’s Post op-ed.
If the mere threat hadn’t worked, Paul could have actually sued the creator(s) of the video. If he successfully proved the video was defamatory, a court would order the creator to remove it.”
https://reason.com/2026/01/21/rand-paul-turns-against-section-230-citing-youtube-video-accusing-him-of-taking-money-from-maduro/