/RantOn!
Yeah, I didn't either until some of my favorite YouTubers began mentioning what was going on. Some of them have lost up to 80% of their revenue due to the changes, and they're almost all small 'Tubers who don't have the large numbers that, say Stephen Colbert has.
Yes, I know there's a reason he has those numbers. I love me some Stephen too. But we're talking the creepy, the horror, the #KeepYouTubeCreepy members of the community like me, who love to watch things like Rob Dyke's Seriously Strange series or Cayleigh Elise's Dark Matters.
Why does Deadly Women's channel continue to get advertising when Criminally Listed doesn't? Because they're from a major network, that's why. And as YouTube grows and changes, it overreacts to things like the Wall Street Journal's article on "objectionable content". I won't link the article to you because, unfortunately, you probably can't read it unless you're subscribed to their paper. I tried to look it up and was unable to read it because I'm not. (I did link the below headline to the paper's article if you want to try and read it.)
So. Yeah. Even sites without the creepy content, like AnimeAmerica, are getting hit because they...review...anime? I'm not sure what's hitting them (YouTube algorithms are said to give nuclear physicists hives), but I bet it's that pesky "family friendly" thing YouTube is stressing about.
The Vintage Files, a channel that discusses old murder cases, disappearances and other things, is missing revenue because of the YouTube issue. I understand there's a whole list of words that can't be put in the description or title or else the video does not receive advertising.
I worry, as an author of romance novels who writes things that are a bit on the spicy side, that this trend could wind up impacting people like me or others who write even spicier novels. Content doesn't need to be "family friendly" on a website where a simple click can take you away from the material you find so offensive. Guard your kids, people. Watch what they watch. Don't just assume YouTube will babysit them for you, do it yourself.
My kids watch YouTube, but we can see their computers from where we sit (or my husband can since we moved into the new house, and let me tell you he's far stricter than I am). If he or I see something we don't want them watching, WE MAKE THEM TURN IT OFF. Simple as that.
We had company two weeks ago, and one of the boys wanted to watch hunting videos where wild hogs were slaughtered. I told him no, I don't watch that in this house and neither do you. Luckily his mother backed me up, he turned it off, and that was that. No advertiser needed to pull its slot, no YouTube needed to blacklist the video. It was done, taken care of.
So please don't babysit my content, YouTube and your advertisers. Let me do that. I can do it just fine, thanks.
P.S. For those, like me, who adore true crime stories and creepy content, you can use the hashtag #KeepYouTubeCreepy to support those YouTubers who give you that content. You can also subscribe to Patreons or buy merchandise, but you have to check individual YouTuber channels to see who is doing what.
#KeepYouTubeCreepy
/RantOff
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