Japan Bans Candidates From Using YouTube

Japan has requested that YouTube delete candidate speeches in an effort to “ensure the fairness of the election.” This is in response to a fringe candidate, Koichi Toyama, who has garnered much attention due to his eccentric, confrontational style. According to Japanese election laws political speeches are only allowed to be aired by public broadcaster NHK.

Meanwhile, in the United States, YouTube may be a major player in the 2008 Presidential campaign. Some think it may be as or more important than broadcast networks. For example, a video promoting Barak Obama titled Vote Different, created by a once-anonymous ParkRidge47 (Phil De Vellis), has already received millions of views and captured the attention of mainstream media. Other videos capturing major attention include a two minute video of John Edwards combing his hair and Hillary Clinton singing the National Anthem. YouTube has created its own political channel and almost all the presidential candidates have accounts and are posting video. In addition, YouTube just launched CitizenTube where the general public, as opposed to politicians, can post videos arguments about the political issues important to them.

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