Recent YouTube policy changes are causing monetary loss for YouTubers as of late and Casey Neistat, popular vlogger, said he believes he has been a consistent recipient of unfair treatment.
Neistat sought to use his YouTube channel to promote a GoFundMe page dedicated to helping victims of the Oct. 1 Las Vegas massacre that was later restricted by YouTube.
“I put an ad at the beginning and an ad at the end, so all of the AdSense revenue from this video will also be donated,” Neistat said in his video posted Oct. 2.
Although the GoFundMe page is fulfilling its intended purpose, having raised nearly $300,000 in the first 13 days of its existence, Youtube disqualified Neistat’s video from accruing ad revenue from the video itself.
YouTube stated it did this because of its policy not to run ads on videos reacting to tragedies.
Neistat and other You-Tubers Phillip DeFranco and Ethan Klein claim this is where
YouTube is being hypocritical. The YouTube channel “Jimmy Kimmel Live” published a video Oct. 2 in which ABC latenight television host Jimmy
Kimmel spoke about the horrific tragedy that took place in his hometown. However, this video contains an advertisement, not aligning with the YouTube ad policy to demonetize videos discussing tragedies.
In response to criticism, YouTube told DeFranco Oct. 9, that “for nearly eight years we have allowed a small number of large, white-listed partners to run partner-sold ads on videos.”
The channel has been allowed to directly seek advertisers for their video and takes on the responsibility for the suitability of the ad.
YouTube stated in the case of tragedies, it is in the process of discontinuing ads on such content and will soon finish.
YouTube intended their policy to be implemented so people do not make money from tragedies unethically.
Christian Toma, YouTube personality and director of happiness at Next Generation
E-Sports, said he understands YouTube’s point of view.
“If people are putting (up) videos about the biggest mass shooting in American history, then it makes sense that You-Tube will demonetize the video,” Toma said. “YouTube is assuming the worst out of people and doesn’t want people making money from a tragedy.”
Toma said he understands this is a complex topic.
“It needs to be on a case-by-case basis. You agreed when you signed up as a YouTuber and you need to be OK with that,” Toma said.
Braden Sapp, junior music education major, said he understands both sides.
“YouTube has been going downhill with their new policies just popping up. There’s not as much freedom as there used to be. People are getting censored. I do agree with YouTube, but (policy enforcement) should be spread across the board,” Sapp said.
Neistat released another video titled, “DEMONETIZED DEMONETIZED DEMONETIZED,” Oct. 17 that stated YouTube does not do enough to support its community, a distinct attribute of the site. In the video, Neistat notes that a travel vlog he uploaded was demonetized, seemingly without reason.
Though YouTube has been criticized for its recent policy changes, it also accepts such criticism and applies it to the site for the benefit of viewers.
