Most of you probably have little knowledge about the controversy happening on YouTube. That controversy has to do with allegations that the world’s second-largest search engine is censoring channels, de-ranking them, demonetizing them which obviously is a problem for those creators. Nerd City has just released a video entitled, YouTube’s Biggest Lie, in which they tackle the subject head-on.
YouTube’s Biggest Lie goes after the video search engine by showing a list of over 15,000 keywords it says YouTube’s bots are trained to flag. Now, it doesn’t matter in what context the word is used, YouTube will still demonetize and de-rank the videos it flags with these words.
This practice isn’t unlike what we have to deal with using Google AdSense. We have covered the news that has involved using adult words, such as terms from the adult film industry, the “P” word. Those articles where we have mentioned the “P” word have all been demonetized from Google AdSense, even though they are not being used in an “adult” sense. Merely reporting on the subject will get you a strike from Google AdSense. This is exactly what is happening on YouTube and YouTube’s Biggest Lie makes the point brilliantly.
As Nerd City mentions in YouTube’s Biggest Lie, having human interaction with YouTube staff (in our case Google staff) about a violation is next to impossible. Both arms of the Alphabet brand are almost entirely run by their algorithms and even requesting a “human review” doesn’t always work.
It is indeed frustrating for YouTube creators but it is also frustrating for small website owners like myself. I don’t have the cashflow of The Verge (owned by VOX Media), Engadget (Owned by Verizon Media), or CNET (Owned by CBS Interactive). Those sites can report without having to be sensitive to the algorithm bots because they don’t have to worry about making money from Google AdSense.
Check out YouTube’s Biggest Lie below, it seems the problem is pretty widespread across the platform. By that I mean it is happening to creators from all walks of life and both sides of the fence, from channels like Nerd City to channels like Tim Pool. It’s really not a problem for just one demographic. It’s a problem for anyone using the “secret list of words causing demonetization by YouTube bots.” As Nerd City put it.
After you watch the video below, let us know your thoughts on all of this. Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, or Facebook. You can also comment on our MeWe page by joining the MeWe social network.
Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
