YouTube to Pay $22 Million Settlement in Trump Lawsuit

AFP/APP

New York: YouTube has agreed to pay $22 million to settle a lawsuit filed by former US President Donald Trump after the platform suspended his account in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, according to a court filing released Monday.

The Google-owned video-sharing platform is the latest tech giant to reach a settlement with Trump, who sued multiple social media companies in July 2021, claiming he was wrongfully censored.

Major platforms, including YouTube, Meta, and Twitter (now X), suspended Trump over concerns that his repeated claims of voter fraud could incite further violence following the 2020 presidential election.

According to the filing, funds from the YouTube settlement will go toward Trump’s latest construction initiative at the White House, through the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall. The project includes plans to restore and elevate the National Mall and construct a new White House State Ballroom.

Trump’s suspension came after violent clashes on January 6, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol, leaving more than 140 police officers injured.

Earlier this year, Elon Musk’s X agreed to pay $10 million to settle a similar case involving Trump and its former chief executive Jack Dorsey. In January, Meta reached a $25 million settlement, with most of the funds designated for Trump’s planned presidential library.

Alphabet, YouTube’s parent company, reported that ad sales from the video platform generated more than $36 billion in 2024, according to its 2025 annual report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.