It might sound like common sense, but try and stay away from controversy. The problem is that the more controversial something is, the more eyes there are to look at it. One big factor to take into consideration when using YouTube is the struggles it has had in the past. Facebook had Cambridge Analytica and Twitter has had issues with the spread hate and misinformation, YouTube has them both trumped. It is actually easier for me to just put a screenshot of the page on Wikipedia.
So why include it? Why bring attention to a negative part of the platform? Simple! So you know what not to do and how the actions of others in the past have created it’s current state.
Censoring
Probably the most infamous example comes from a Logan Paul controversy. In the video he went to the Aokigahara forest in Japan and recorded a dead body. To learn more click on this link here. Now in fairness to YouTube, they came down on him and he lost a lot of support from the company. The problem is because of his profile and the absurdity of the situation, more people watched the video perpetuating the story for a lot longer. It had a really negative effect on the site as a whole. Brands that were uncomfortable about having their ads next to such questionable content pulled marketing on the site and it has taken years for YouTube to get their credibility back.
As a result the algorithm searched for problematic keywords or content to curb any potential scandel. The issue here is that often the creators were trying to talk about serious issues to their audience but could not because their video had been demonetised, blocked or pulled down completely. The infuriating thing is that often by the time the decision was appealed, the creator would lose out on revenue that is generally made in the first 24-48 hours of a video’s life. YouTube has done more to improve. However, it’s far from perfect and creators have no way of knowing if their hard work will be for naught.
Age Gating
This one requires a bit of explaining. So for a while there were videos starring characters such as Spider-Man, Elsa and the Minions in increasingly disturbing situations. I don’t want to say what, but if you want to know more use this link to find out. Because they knew of them children flocked to these videos and were greeted by these horrible videos. Parents and guardians were obviously shocked and it led once again to advertisers pulling off the site.
The result of this particular controversy is that creators have to declare if their video is for kids or not, and if it is found not to be, the video gets struck down. That sounds like a win for YouTube. Except there is some content that is appealing to all ages so by declaring it as not safe for kids because they talk about a characters death or other such details, then creators run the risk of losing out on ad revenue. I will talk more about ad revenue in part 3. Like before, YouTube is taking steps to improve things, but it is a very difficult job.
Being famous for being controversial
On the other side of this, there are channels and stars that are successful because of controversy. I’m not going to name any names, but a quick Google search will do that for you. The problem is that the moment someone gets a reputation people watch them, which feeds into them being more extreme and the cycle continues. Most creators they have to work hard, spending hours making their content. For a select few they are famous because of bad decisions and they become rich because of it. In most cases their main audience are younger and they therefore set an unhealthy example for their viewers.
YouTube has made strides to try and distance themselves from them, but for many on the platform it is seen as tokenistic and ineffectual since at the end of the day they bring in views. They do sometimes action a particularly egregious video, but this often amounts to a slap on the wrist.
Why use it then?
After all that why should you still use YouTube? It is by far the best way to reach your audience, and if you foster a community it can be an amazing force for good. Youtubers have done charity live streams, brought awareness to needed causes or shone a light upon injustice. While the controversies have been big, they have also helped make the platform safer and it is clear that there are people there who are actively trying to make it better.
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