Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, has been suspended from YouTube for one week due to his connection with a video that claims that masks are ineffective in fighting COVID-19, according to CNN.

The news outlet reports that a YouTube spokesperson said, "This resulted in a first strike on the channel, which means it can't upload content for a week, per our longstanding three strikes policy. We apply our policies consistently across the platform, regardless of speaker or political views, and we make exceptions for videos that have additional context such as countervailing views from local health authorities."

In a Tuesday, August 10 tweet, Paul spoke out regarding YouTube's decision.

"Leftwing cretins at YouTube banning me for 7 days for a video that quotes 2 peer reviewed articles saying cloth masks don't work," he wrote, calling the suspension a "badge of honor."

Paul's tweet included a link to watch the video on a different platform.