It all started with conservative, racist, homophobic comedian Steven Crowder.
Vox reporter Carlos Maza, who writes the program Strikethrough, finally couldn’t take it anymore. He put together a video montage drawn from Crowder’s YouTube program with frequent remarks that ridicule Maza’s sexual orientation and race and it went viral on Twitter.
“Since I started working at Vox, Steven Crowder has been making video after video “debunking” Strikethrough. Every single video has included repeated, overt attacks on my sexual orientation and ethnicity,” Maza wrote on Twitter. “I’ve been called an anchor baby, a lispy queer, a Mexican, etc. These videos get millions of views on YouTube. Every time one gets posted, I wake up to a wall of homophobic/racist abuse on Instagram and Twitter.”
So, I have pretty thick skin when it comes to online harassment, but something has been really bothering me.
— Carlos Maza (@gaywonk) May 31, 2019
YouTube said it would review Maza’s complaints but originally sided with Crowder.
“As an open platform, it’s crucial for us to allow everyone–from creators to journalists to late-night TV hosts–to express their opinions w/in the scope of our policies. Opinions can be deeply offensive, but if they don’t violate our policies, they’ll remain on our site,” YouTube tweeted.
(3/4) As an open platform, it’s crucial for us to allow everyone–from creators to journalists to late-night TV hosts–to express their opinions w/in the scope of our policies. Opinions can be deeply offensive, but if they don’t violate our policies, they’ll remain on our site.
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) June 4, 2019
But luckily there are brave people in the world standing up for what’s right.
The Google video unit had earlier said Crowder’s offending videos didn’t violate its policies. That prompted a group of Google employees to protest the decision, according to Bloomberg.
“Despite YouTube capitalizing on Pride as a marketing campaign, it’s clear they have no issue making policy decisions that harm LGBTQ people like @gaywonk. We have #NoPrideInYT,” tweeted Googlers Against Hate.
Despite YouTube capitalizing on Pride as a marketing campaign, it’s clear they have no issue making policy decisions that harm LGBTQ people like @gaywonk. We have #NoPrideInYT pic.twitter.com/onD1cARt98
— Googlers Against Hate (@EthicalGooglers) June 5, 2019
YouTube finally decided to walk its talk on Wednesday.
“We have suspended this channel’s monetization,” YouTube tweeted on Wednesday. “We came to this decision because a pattern of egregious actions has harmed the broader community and is against our YouTube Partner Program policies.”
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
