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Over this month alone, the face mask debate has become much more heated and controversial. Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and President Biden have sparred over face masks. DeSantis, like other Republican governors, has interfered with schools forcing masks on children. Instead, the Florida governor maintains that whether or not children wear masks ultimately boils down parents' decisions. Biden didn't like this and he told DeSantis and other GOP governors to "get out the way'; this resulted in a back and forth between the Democrat president and Republican governor. During this week alone, the issue of face masks continues to rage on. YouTube recently hit GOP Sen. Rand Paul with a one week account ban after Paul posted so-called "misinformation" about face coverings.

Why YouTube suspended Paul's account

On Tuesday, Paul conversed with the press about his suspension from YouTube. During this time, the Republican senator said YouTube informed him that his rhetoric on face masks breached their terms of service agreements regarding "misinformation." Furthermore, YouTube also informed Paul that they are not permissive of rhetoric that doesn't fall in line with the federal government's coronavirus guidance. The Kentucky Republican had some choice words on this as well. Paul stated that it is a very real issue when social media platforms behave as an "arm of the government"; shortly thereafter, Paul also declared that this type of behavior justifiably warrants some pushback.

Growing tensions over COVID restrictions

Recently, Americans have heard about the Delta variant; although, this week has engendered the rise of reports about a so-called "Delta plus variant." Many people, at this point, are skeptical of health officials at best, if not downright distrustful. Folks have articulated views that COVID is being used as a vehicle for control and the overall restructuring of society. Tensions over COVID restrictions are mounting, rather than waning. These tensions also align with partisanship and politics. Many Republicans are sounding the alarm against mandates like vaccine passports and the forced masking of children in schools. Meanwhile, most Democrats are of the belief that any and all mandates are acceptable, due to the reported presence of COVID-19 "variants."