Former NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro says 'racist' YouTube videos drove him to … – ABC

Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro has told a court that Google’s refusal to delete “vile, racist” videos made him hesistant to leave his home and drove him to consider “self-harm”.Key points:John Barilaro claimed the videos triggered a wave of online hate mailHe said he became hesitant to leave his home after being confronted by members of the publicMr Barilaro accused Google of trying to drive him to “financial ruin”Mr Barilaro is suing the technology giant for defamation over two videos posted on its YouTube channel in 2020 by comedian Jordan Shanks, who is known online as FriendlyJordies.Mr Shanks settled a separate defamation action brought by Mr Barilaro last year after apologising and agreeing to make a number of edits to his videos but no damages were paid.Giving evidence in the case against Google in the Federal Court, Mr Barilaro became emotional as he described the impact of the tech giant’s continued refusal to take down Mr Shanks’s videos, which he said led him to consider self-harm.”I hate Google,” Mr Barilaro told the court.”The abuse I’ve copped, I lay it square at the feet of Google.” The videos were posted in September and October in 2020 by FriendlyJordies.(YouTube: FriendlyJordies)The videos in question, titled “Bruz” and…
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