George Orwell’s birthday is coming up on June 25. But the effort to promote a virtual party to celebrate the famous author of 1984 and Animal Farm has run afoul of Big Brother.
Google Ads disapproved a YouTube video ad to promote Orwell’s Birthday as “shocking content” in violation of their policies. Such content is defined in the Google policy as suggesting “you may be in danger, be infected with a disease, or be the victim of a conspiracy.”
Although the video currently appears on YouTube, the ad to promote it cannot. You can view the video and judge the threat for yourself at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmOg5EUmGJY
The video was created by the rock band Motihari Brigade, named in tribute to Orwell’s birthplace in India, and his role as an anti-fascist volunteer during the Spanish Civil War. The fifty-two second video urges viewers to “raise a glass, share your favorite Orwell quote, photo, meme, or dystopian cocktail recipe and drink to the patron saint of independent human resistance” – promoting the hashtag #OrwellBirthday.
“George Orwell’s birthday is the perfect occasion to celebrate the knowledge that two plus two really does equal four” the video suggests, encouraging people to “Turn off and tune out the corporate media machine’s two minutes of hate.”
Despite the obvious tongue-in-cheek humor, it is possible that Google censors failed to appreciate the proposal to “Find the scattered tribe of critical thinkers still inspired by Orwell’s legacy and capable of feeling the spirit of rebellion, even under The Party’s ever-watchful artificial intelligence algorithm eyes.”
The banned ad ends with a call to action to “Invite your friends and share your version of Goldstein’s forbidden book. Join the virtual birthday party for George Orwell on June 25.”
Motihari Brigade describes its Orwellian music genre as “Rock-n-Roll Thoughtcrime” – a beacon for those seeking their independent lost tribe. Their new album “Power From Below” is intended as a soundtrack to the dystopian reality show we are all now busily sharing on social media. Their animated cartoon “Talking To Crazy” tells an entertaining story of isolated individuals struggling against spiral-eyed smart-phone obsessed zombies and demagogue politicians. Sound familiar?
