YouTube, which is owned by Google, announced on October 15th that it would prohibit content promoting “conspiracy theories that have been used to justify real-world violence.”

15 influencers – who have tens of thousands of subscribers – have filed a complaint with US District Court in Northern California, seeking a temporary restraining order to reinstate the accounts of the 15 plaintiffs.

Three of the popular influencers are Jeff Pedersen, better known by his social-media handle “InTheMatrixxx”; Jordan Sather of the channel “Destroying the Illusion”; and Polly St. George, known as “Amazing Polly,” who is believed to be a creator of the false Wayfair conspiracy theory that went viral on mainstream social media platforms over the summer.

The attorney representing the 15 influencers, Cris Armenta, pointed to a Pew Research Center study that found “many Americans get their news from independent YouTube channels” rather than usual mainstream news sources. The 15 also feel the ban on their channels violates their right of free speech.

“YouTube’s massive de-platforming, which occurred just three weeks before the 2020 Presidential election, worked to the severe detriment of both conservative content creators and American voters who seek out their content,” the lawsuit says.

The complaint claims that the removed channels of the 15 plaintiffs “address issues of public concern that are highly relevant to the November 3 election and its anticipated aftermath,” and that “the public will suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an immediate and affirmative injunction.”