Steven Crowder, a conservative comedian and commentator, became the newest victim of a YouTube purge spurred by a Vox reporter. The reporter, Carlos Maza, was triggered by Crowder’s content and flagged the videos he found offensive, essentially using a form of adult tattletaling.
When Maza initially cried “homophobe” to YouTube, they responded that Crowder’s content did not violate their policies, however, they did not agree with the content. After further review, YouTube stated that it suspended Crowder’s monetization, meaning that Crowder can no longer use advertisements to generate revenue on YouTube.
“Update on our continued review-we have suspended this channel’s monetization. We came to this decision because a pattern of egregious actions has harmed the broader community and is against our YouTube Partner Program policies,” YouTube tweeted.
Update on our continued review–we have suspended this channel’s monetization. We came to this decision because a pattern of egregious actions has harmed the broader community and is against our YouTube Partner Program policies. More here: https://t.co/VmOce5nbGy
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) June 5, 2019
YouTube’s purge didn’t end with Crowder. The editor in chief of News2Share tweeted, “Within minutes of YouTube’s announcement of a new purge it appears they caught my outlet, which documents activism and extremism, in the crossfire. I was just notified my entire channel has been demonetized. I am a journalist whose work there is used in dozen of documentaries.”
Within minutes of @YouTube's announcement of a new purge it appears they caught my outlet, which documents activism and extremism, in the crossfire.
I was just notified my entire channel has been demonetized. I am a journalist whose work there is used in dozens of documentaries. pic.twitter.com/HscG2S4dWh
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) June 5, 2019
Crowder was able to utilize the YouTube platform to ironically bash YouTube and Maza for stripping his channel from the ability to monetize.
In a recent addition to Crowder’s channel, the comedian dives into the problems that come with censorship and tells his audience explicitly why he was demonetized.
YouTube flagged Crowder for three videos, but most importantly for a link to purchase a shirt that says “Socialism is for f-gs.”
I wouldn’t be caught dead in a shirt that says “Socialism is for f-gs.” I think that kind of rhetoric is unnecessary. But do I call my mommy and tell her that a comedian offended me? No, because why in the world do you care that much about a t-shirt?
Maza claimed that YouTube was a “queer space.” What the heck does that mean? YouTube is a platform where you post videos. It’s not a space designed for any one type of being. It includes videos of all types and I can promise you that there are much more offensive and disturbing videos on YouTube than Crowder’s “Mug Club” videos.
This was not a way to stop online harassment or crude ideas from spreading. This was about silencing the voices of prominent conservatives that have messages and platforms people like.
Steven Crowder is a prominent voice with a large audience and great content, but a conservative can’t have that without some crazy left-winger crying “racist!” or “homophobe!”
Why people can’t just have their opinions and share them without everyone getting their panties in a bunch? In fact, if anyone should be mad about the opinions that are being shared, it should be conservatives, because liberals are trying to tell their collegiate base to physically assault those activists that politely speak their minds on college campuses. It’s absolutely ridiculous that now YouTube needs to attack conservatives as well.
Twitter has always been a platform that silences conservatives. That’s not an opinion, that’s a fact. Don’t believe me? Go on Twitter and find the hundreds of examples.
Why is demonetizing Crowder any different? Because this is no longer just stripping people of their First Amendment rights; now we are also stripping people of their ability to make money and their ability to live a prosperous life doing what they are passionate about.
An average viewer might not know how much work goes into creating video content, but losing monetization could mean losing jobs. These monetary functions on YouTube don’t just help to pay the star of the show and for equipment, these functions provide a salary for every individual that is involved in producing a show like Crowders.
It’s no longer just the First Amendment at risk anymore. It’s the American dream and the fundamental aspects of capitalism that make it possible for anyone to climb up the latter of success with hard work. It doesn’t matter how hard you work anymore, if your work offends someone who has a differing opinion, you should apparently be stopped.
