YouTube Censors Viral Video Alleging Famous Veteran Fabricated War Stories: DETAILS

YouTube has censored and restricted a viral podcast calling out Tim Kennedy for allegedly lying about his military service.

"The Antihero Podcast" - a popular podcast focused on war stories, police and current events - released a podcast shortly before Thanksgiving focused on Kennedy's book "Scars and Stripes."

Hosts Brent Tucker - a former member of Delta Force - and Tyler Hoover - a police officer and former Army member - picked apart a very specific part of Kennedy's book about the Battle of Firebase Anaconda in Afghanistan in 2007. Kennedy was an active duty member of Special Forces at the time of the battle, and he was there. However, claims he's made are now facing serious scrutiny.

In the book, Kennedy made several claims that, honestly, are hard to believe on the surface. The claims include lobbing grenades like a video, sniping people like it was a movie, guns being pulled on truck drivers, killing people who looked at trucks in the convoy the wrong way (an action Tucker defined as a war crime) and much more.

The podcast caught fire, but it appears YouTube doesn't want more people watching it.

YouTube restricts "Antihero Podcast" alleging Tim Kennedy lied about his combat record.

Well, the podcast has been restricted in recent days, and viewers must confirm their age because "this video may be inappropriate for some users."

Specifically, YouTube states it's restricted "based on Community Guidelines." Below is a screenshot of what viewers now see when attempting to watch the podcast. Take a look, and let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.

YouTube age restricts "AntiHero Podcast" episode about Tim Kennedy. (Credit: Screenshot/YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eWUh1LHAw8&rco=1)

There's just one huge problem with the video being age restricted and censored by YouTube. In more than three hours of conversation between Hoover and Tucker, there's literally nothing inappropriate. Nothing.

The majority of the podcast is Hoover reading small segments from Kennedy's books and then Tucker debunking the alleged lying by explaining how he contacted people there or just explaining how none of it makes sense from a tactics standpoint.

Not a single thing in the video appears to violate any community guidelines. It's simply three hours of two guys talking about Tim Kennedy - a former UFC fighter - allegedly making up stories for his book, which became a New York Times bestseller. To make the situation even more curious, Hoover told me YouTube cleared it at the point up loaded and then restricted it only *AFTER* it went mega-viral.

"I have no idea why YouTube would put an age restriction on this video. At no point does it violate any of YouTube’s policies. In fact, when I uploaded it to YouTube, I submitted it to be ‘rated’ by YouTube, who determined it be suitable for all viewers. Now, all of a sudden, it’s not," Hoover explained exclusively to OutKick.

I reached out to YouTube multiple times asking why the informational and educational military podcast was being restricted/censored. Why can't the general public and kids watch it? As of publication, the tech giant hasn't given me an answer or explanation. I will update this piece if YouTube gets back to me with new information.

So far, it appears there's no reason that would pass the sniff test, and it's the latest sign big tech is a black box nobody can get into for answers.

Tim Kennedy (kind of) responds to allegations he fabricated war stories and his military record.

The podcast went mega-viral prior to YouTube censoring it, and it's dominated the military sphere of news and conversation for nearly a week and a half at this point. It seems like everyone has an opinion on the situation, and Kennedy immediately began facing immediate backlash.

The comments on his Instagram page turned into a bloodbath and roast session of people mocking him for allegedly lying. The pressure and attention eventually got to the point that Kennedy had no choice but to respond.

He released a video addressing a few claims made by Tucker and Hoover, but ignoring the big ones. He also claimed memories of combat in war are often wrong and people have different versions of events.

Translation: He appeared to chalk up potential inaccurate information in his book to the fog of war.

Does the fog of war make you misremember sniping people? I honestly don't know, and would love to hear from veterans at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.

You can watch Tim's response below.

To make matters more interesting, Tim appeared to subtly hint in an interview with Liz Wheeler that "The Antihero Podcast" might have been released to damage prospects of a job in Donald Trump's administration.

Skip to the 23:00-mark in the video below.

To be clear, I can say with 100% certainty that "The Antihero Podcast" didn't just release this podcast on a whim to tank whatever chances Tim Kennedy has at a job in Trump's government. It's been in the works and hinted at since at least spring. That's long before Donald Trump won the election.

This also isn't the first example of tech censorship when it comes to veterans. Instagram censored a photo of Delta Force veteran Brad Thomas during his time in Mogadishu with the Rangers in 1993 simply because it featured an unloaded AK-47.

Instagram admitted to OutKick that the Veterans Day post from Thomas shouldn't ever have been restricted or censored.

The fact YouTube has censored the podcast for seemingly no reason and won't answer questions about it is suspect to say the least. What specifically did "The Antihero Podcast" say to deserve to be censored and restricted? YouTube needs to tell people because right now, it appears the tech giant did it for literally no reason other than to stop it from going more viral. I will update this piece as more information comes in, and definitely let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.