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Why Is YouTube Demonetizing LGBTQ Videos?

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Re: Why Is YouTube Demonetizing LGBTQ Videos?

#41

Post by klodolph »

jlouis wrote: post #34

My bet: 1. Advertisers don't want to be featured on an ISIS recruitment video, or something like that. 2. Google implements a filter. It is fuzzy and based on machine learning, because Google are strong believers of machine learning. 3. The algorithm let a single ISIS recruitment video through. Advertisers form a coalition and yell "NO ISIS RECRUITMENT VIDEOS!" 4. This forces Google to implement either whitelists, or…

> It is fuzzy and based on machine learning, because Google are strong believers of machine learning.

It seems like YouTube must be backed into a corner where that's the only feasible way to do it, at least as a first pass. Video is uploaded at what, 5000x realtime? Or 100 years of video per week?

Re: Why Is YouTube Demonetizing LGBTQ Videos?

#42

Post by larrykwg »

The adpocalypse had an obvious chilling effect on youtube, lots of channels closed as a result of this. And while you can repeal the demonetization, this takes time and even if its successful will remove 90%+ of the income from a video anyways (since most ad revenue is generated in the first day[1]). The arbitrary nature of YouTube's decisions have always made doing YouTube as a full time job really risky. A large number of gaming related video creators have already transitioned to twitch.

YouTube is 100% opaque, nobody knows why and when they are doing anything. Including things that cause a huge damage for people that make their livelihood on their platform. They clearly don't really know what they are doing, I hope there is going to be a viable alternative to this terrible company in the future.

[1] source: https://youtu.be/ULtjwGN2olM?t=373

Re: Why Is YouTube Demonetizing LGBTQ Videos?

#43

Post by wpietri »

caseysoftware wrote: post #31
dottrap wrote: post #19

YouTube has been demonetizing everything across the board, from gaming videos to non-political sketch comedies, and without much explanation. This is all part of the "Adpocalypse" that YouTube content creators have been complaining about this past year. Content creators are left guessing why many of their videos are being demonetized. Even fairly bland material gets demonetized by "the algorithm". Some speculate just…

Realistically, this is the natural consequence of our current political climate. When you offend [group X] and they go after your advertisers, it's effective. Advertisers naturally say "I don't want to be associated with anything/anyone controversial, so let's exclude those!" The problem is that most things are "controversial" to some group.. therefore, large swaths of content are no longer "advertiser appropriate" a…

That has nothing to do with the current political climate. Advertisers were reluctant to advertise against anything not perfectly anodyne 20 years ago. This was a perennial problem for us at early community site bianca.com.

The specific things that people complain about has changed, sure. At the time the US right was much better at the game, insisting that everything be "family friendly". And at the time, anything GLBTQ related was seen as "not family friendly".

That has changed, though. For example, support for gay marriage has flipped, going from a minority position to a majority one:

http://news.gallup.com/poll/210566/support-gay-marriage-edge...

That's what makes YouTube's behavior here particularly notable. If, say, relationship advice is monetizable but GLBTQ relationship advice isn't, then that feels like going back to the dark ages.

Re: Why Is YouTube Demonetizing LGBTQ Videos?

#44

Post by kasajian »

Content providers think they want their videos to stay monetized, but I don't think they don't.

With regard to monetizing videos, am I totally wrong to assume that this is entirely based on what advertisers are willing to sponsor? So if company A decides, for whatever reason, they don't want to pay for ads on videos that talk about some subject that they don't agree with, I think we can all agree that they should have the right to do that. And if that causes a community backlash against that advertiser, then that's a good. Boycotts are better than laws.

If some video has content, regardless of whether we agree or disagree with it, and youtube is seeing advertisers shy away from such content, then why would youtube continue to force that advertisers ads to show up on that video. They would lose the advertiser. No advertiser. No money. So leaving it monetized only to lose advertisers and thus money isn't exactly what the content creators want either.

Re: Why Is YouTube Demonetizing LGBTQ Videos?

#45

Post by polishTar »

klodolph wrote: post #41
jlouis wrote: post #34

My bet: 1. Advertisers don't want to be featured on an ISIS recruitment video, or something like that. 2. Google implements a filter. It is fuzzy and based on machine learning, because Google are strong believers of machine learning. 3. The algorithm let a single ISIS recruitment video through. Advertisers form a coalition and yell "NO ISIS RECRUITMENT VIDEOS!" 4. This forces Google to implement either whitelists, or…

> It is fuzzy and based on machine learning, because Google are strong believers of machine learning. It seems like YouTube must be backed into a corner where that's the only feasible way to do it, at least as a first pass. Video is uploaded at what, 5000x realtime? Or 100 years of video per week?

>400 hrs of content are uploaded every minute. You’re exactly correct that an algorithmic first pass is the only thing that’s feasible.

It’s important to mention that creators can appeal monitization decisions to a human reviewer for videos with at least a thousand views.

Re: Why Is YouTube Demonetizing LGBTQ Videos?

#46

Post by wpietri »

gamesbrainiac wrote: post #39

With all due respect for those who create these videos, is it not up to google to determine what they do and don't monetize? At the end of the day, it is their platform, and they will do whatever makes the most business sense. YouTube is not a government service, it is a private company, and as such it holds to right to make whatever decision it needs to make in order to maximize its business potential.

The essence of your argument here appears to be "we cannot complain about how people use power", which I think is bunk.

Yes, Google has the power to do whatever they please. But the people who work there aren't perfect; one can reasonably dispute that a given action is the best business choice.

Although their power over their platform is in some sense absolute, everybody else has power over their individual uses of that platform. It is entirely reasonable of them to tell Google, their business partner, how that platform is working for them.

Further, everybody, whether they're a creator, a viewer, or just a regular person has the right to freedom of speech and freedom of association. Google has dominion over their platform, but everybody else gets to choose whether to deal with Google and what they say about it.

Re: Why Is YouTube Demonetizing LGBTQ Videos?

#48

Post by pavlov »

caseysoftware wrote: post #31
dottrap wrote: post #19

YouTube has been demonetizing everything across the board, from gaming videos to non-political sketch comedies, and without much explanation. This is all part of the "Adpocalypse" that YouTube content creators have been complaining about this past year. Content creators are left guessing why many of their videos are being demonetized. Even fairly bland material gets demonetized by "the algorithm". Some speculate just…

Realistically, this is the natural consequence of our current political climate. When you offend [group X] and they go after your advertisers, it's effective. Advertisers naturally say "I don't want to be associated with anything/anyone controversial, so let's exclude those!" The problem is that most things are "controversial" to some group.. therefore, large swaths of content are no longer "advertiser appropriate" a…

This is a positive development if it forces content creators to look for platforms that are not ad-funded, and thus precipitates the death of the publisher business model that is beholden to advertisers.

Hopefully in 20 years we can look back and say that Facebook was the last major corporation to be built on ad revenue.

Re: Why Is YouTube Demonetizing LGBTQ Videos?

#50

Post by webkike »

caseysoftware wrote: post #31
dottrap wrote: post #19

YouTube has been demonetizing everything across the board, from gaming videos to non-political sketch comedies, and without much explanation. This is all part of the "Adpocalypse" that YouTube content creators have been complaining about this past year. Content creators are left guessing why many of their videos are being demonetized. Even fairly bland material gets demonetized by "the algorithm". Some speculate just…

Realistically, this is the natural consequence of our current political climate. When you offend [group X] and they go after your advertisers, it's effective. Advertisers naturally say "I don't want to be associated with anything/anyone controversial, so let's exclude those!" The problem is that most things are "controversial" to some group.. therefore, large swaths of content are no longer "advertiser appropriate" a…

The number one YouTube channel in size by subscribers, PewDiePie, said the N word live on stream and his fan base essentially attacked people who came out as offended.

I love the part of YouTube that gives you an incredibly personal insight on intelligent people, but I think there is a huge problem with how much leeway the content creators have and are still able to make money. And the fact that this harms the smaller channels like videogamedunkey that doesn't say racist things is extremely disheartening.

I don't have an opinion here other than it sucks that you can't just give people money based on how many people watch their videos.

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