YouTube decides homophobia doesn't break its rules
In a recent scandal, caused by homophobic insults from one moderator to another, YouTube has decided not to take action. More specifically, measures against conservative Steven Crowder, whom Vox presenter Carlos Maza had accused of publishing numerous videos with homophobic and racist insults, which, according to Maza, resulted in widespread harassment by Crowder's supporters.
These days, in an ironic or even cynical reflection of the situation, YouTube wears the colors of the rainbow on its Twitter channel, in support of gay pride month. In reality, however, it is facing a major controversy as the decision taken indicates that, for the company, homophobic harassment does not represent any violation of its policies.
But how did all this start? Well: journalist Carlos Maza, who presents a popular series called Strikethrough for the Vox channel, claims to have been the victim of persistent harassment by videographer Steven Crowder, who in turn has more than 3.8 million subscribers on YouTube.
The harassment of Mazan took place as follows, whenever Maza posted a video, Crowder posted his own video "in response," only that his version was characterized by offensive language around Maza's sexual orientation and ethnicity.
Last week, Maza published a compilation documenting the harassment. In the videos, Crowder mocks Maza's accent and calls him "faggot with an accent" or "Mexican gay," among other things. As a result, Maza asked YouTube to take action, as the high number of views generated by Crowder's videos was causing an extensive string of insults and discriminatory comments from the public.
In response, YouTube stated that it would investigate the situation, and on Tuesday made the following statement: "While we found language that was clearly hurtful, the videos as posted don't violate our policies."
What do you think? Do you think YouTube is okay with this kind of online content, or does it require moderation? Let us know your opinion in the comments below.
Source: BBC
