Social-Media
YouTube permanently prohibits LeafyIsHere, a controversial creator
For repeated violates of the company's policy on harassment, YouTube has banished controversial creator Calvin Lee Vail, better known as LeafyIsHere. The ban follows big changes in the harassment policy of YouTube aimed at preventing behaviour, which helped to develop a following among commentators such as Leafy.
Although the company has a history of videos that contain offensive commentary on the website by other creators, including a 2016 video that mocked another creator, the end came after at least 3 violations of the YouTube harassment policy had gathered on its channel in the last ninety days.
This includes videos with cyber bullying (including malicious insults and names based on the appearance of someone, sex or orientation) and encourages viewers to disturb the streams of other artists. Daniel "Keemstar" Keem, creator of YouTube, told Vail not to receive emails about specific videos before ban. before ban.
"We have strict policies which prohibit YouTube harassment and we remove contents which violate our policies if they are flagged," a YouTube speaker told The Verge. The spokesman has confirmed that the Vail ban is permanent. "The canals that repeatedly violate our policies will end."
In the last year, YouTube has begun to introduce new measures to prevent harassment by creators. The company was taught by Carlos Maza, a former Vox host, who used homophobe and other derogatory language to speak about the conservative Steven Crowder. But, after the backlash continued, the company removed Crowder temporarily from their partner program, essentially cutting its channel's ability to run advertising. CEO Susan Wojcicki has recognized the need to develop new policies for YouTube.
During the last few months, he was at the heart of some highly-profiled disputes with H3H3's Ethan Klein and Twitch streamer Imane 'Pokimane' Anys, with nearly 5 million subscribers at the time of his ban. Early June, Vail tweeted that he was given two channel strikes on my new videos today for 'harassment,' noting that he put all his videos in private to avoid a third strike.
The Community Guidelines on YouTube state that three content strikes will lead to the end of the channel. YouTube has not commented on videos that resulted in the ban of Vail. Vail 's ban, in particular, came after he started an ongoing Anys video series in which he lobbied her and her fans for personal insults, leading to criticism from a number of high-profile tv streamers and creators of YouTube. The company guidelines violate videos which contain lengthy insults and may encourage viewers to distortion the stream of another person.
The prohibition against Vail has not been a shock to many people in the community, but the termination of his channel is a clear reminder of how different YouTube is in 2020 from the beginning of 2010.
The new harassment policy for creators in YouTube has specifically been drafted to address videos of people using their platform to attack others, which had been common on the platform before.
Susan Woječki, CEO, said in a 2019 interview, The policy must be written in order for creators to comment on one another and criticize each other. We are asking ... Where do you draw line? Where do you draw line? Where are they going to cross the line? If it isn't just ideas, they 're being a person who criticizes them.
This issue can be tackled more than others by the commentator community, since their videos are about other YouTubers, but Vail has an offensive language history. Although some content from Vail could have been accepted more recently five years ago, new policies, such as the guidelines on stalking by creators, have been developed to avoid the kind of behavior that Vail often uses. Klein, one of Vail 's strongest critics, wrote on Twitter, I would like to see Leafy try and exist in today's current landscape.
Another commentators, including John Scarce, spoke out against the ban by Vail and tweeted, Even though you weren't a fan of his videos, Leafy 's end would be very, very disturbing. This termination of Leafy means now that any of us can be next, added Scarce.
After the ban, Vail joined StoryFire, an application co-created by former YouTube developer Jesse Ridgway, who criticizes YouTube practices for demonetization. Some of the creators of YouTube wonder what this means for the culture of the website, which in recent years has changed dramatically.
