YouTube’s Parent Alphabet to Pay $24.5 Million to Settle Trump Lawsuit; Former President Marks Deal With Meme

Alphabet, the parent company of YouTube, agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit over the platform’s suspension of his channel following the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, and Trump celebrated the agreement by posting a meme of a YouTube executive handing him an oversized check.

Following a court filing on Monday, Trump shared the image at 11:46 p.m. ET on his Truth Social account. The picture depicts a man in a gray hoodie holding a novelty check made out to “Donald J. Trump” for $24.5 million with the memo “Settlement for Wrongful Suspension,” while Trump holds the other side of the check and gives a thumbs-up. The meme’s text states: “YouTube SURRENDERS! Pays President Trump $24.5 MILLION for illegal ban! This MASSIVE victory proves Big Tech censorship has consequences. Every shadowbanned patriot deserves justice!” Trump stood up for free speech—and prevailed. Share if you believe all de-platformed conservatives deserve compensation.

The settlement resolves Trump’s claims that YouTube “censored” him by suspending his channel for violating the site’s policy against inciting violence after Jan. 6. Under the agreement, YouTube, Google and Alphabet did not admit wrongdoing and did not agree to any policy or product changes.

Of the $24.5 million total, Alphabet will pay $22 million to Trump, who designated the funds for the Trust for the National Mall and for construction of the White House ballroom. An additional $2.5 million will be paid to other plaintiffs in the case, including the American Conservative Union.

Separately, last week Alphabet disclosed that YouTube will soon allow some creators previously banned under now-retired policies—such as prohibitions on content containing misinformation about the 2020 U.S. presidential election and COVID-19—to return to the platform.

Context for the dispute traces back to Trump’s broader conflicts with major platforms after Jan. 6. He formed Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates Truth Social, after being banned or suspended by Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and others. In July 2021, he sued Meta (then Facebook), Twitter and Google over those account suspensions, alleging “unconstitutional” restrictions on his free-speech rights. The First Amendment restricts government limits on speech and does not apply to private companies. In December 2021, YouTube moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing the case “flip[ped] the First Amendment on its head” and attempted “to try to override YouTube’s own choices about what material belongs on its service.” Alphabet ultimately negotiated a settlement.

Several related platform decisions occurred in the interim. YouTube lifted Trump’s suspension in March 2023, saying it weighed the risk of violence against voters’ interest in hearing from major national candidates. Meta reinstated Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts with “new guardrails” to deter repeat offenses, and Elon Musk reinstated Trump’s Twitter/X account in November 2022.

Other legal settlements involving Trump and media companies were also reached in recent years. In January 2025, Meta agreed to pay $25 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit; in February 2025, Twitter/X paid about $10 million. Paramount Global paid $16 million in summer 2025 to settle a lawsuit related to a “60 Minutes” segment, and Disney paid $16 million in December 2024 to settle a defamation suit against ABC News.