For internet comedian Steven Crowder, it was simply just another day at the office. Some numpty at the Vox propaganda factory had just put out a video about one of the many nonsensical progressive talking points, and it was his job to ridicule it. Sure, it was low hanging fruit, but as an internet comedian that needs to pay next month’s bills, you can’t look that sort of gift horse in the mouth.
Little did Crowder know that this numpty did not take kindly to mockery. In fact, he detested it so much that it he started the YouTube apocalypse. The fourth YouTube apocalypse to be exact. That being said, this event should still be taken seriously, as for some content creators on YouTube it may very well be the end of their career..
What has happened is that the insulted party, a Vox writer who refers to himself on Twitter as ‘Gaywonk,’ took his digital feud up with Youtube. Leveraging the weight of his position in the media machine, he provided a reason for Google to launch a major crackdown on subversive content producers.
The First Victim:
The first victim was Steven Crowder himself. A Canadian immigrant to the US, Steven Crowder is a prominent conservative comedian on the net whose focus ranges from news to skits. As the host of his own show, ‘Louder with Crowder,’ the man is not afraid of stirring the pot. For him, both political left and right are fair game, with him once publishing a skit involving Kevin Spacey making sexual advances on conservative pundit Ben Shapiro.
Crowder’s force of personality has not gone unnoticed. His ‘Change My Mind’ series has spawned a viral meme used even outside the political sphere, and his videos frequently get up to a million views a piece. Unfortunately this personality is also the thing that got him into trouble. Drawing attention to yourself isn’t always good, especially when there are people like @Gaywonk lurking around in media.
Crowder has since been stripped of the ability to make money off of the platform, and is now totally reliant on donations. Thankfully for Crowder though, there is one major silver lining to this. Apparently, all the attention garnered through Google’s crusade has meant that donations are way up.
The Fascists:
Other commentators haven’t been so lucky.
Youtube’s initial response to the controversy was put up on their blog, in which they promised to come down hard against channels promoting ‘Nazi ideology.’
For once though, it seems like the term Nazi here was used in a relatively literal capacity. Channels such as Cultured Thug and YouKipper have been totally removed from the platform, along with a number of other channels which explicitly advocate for the end of democracy.
While this might not be seen as a great loss, it should be noted that from what I can see, these channels mostly focused on the philosophy behind authoritarian Right-wing politics, and did not explicitly call for any sort of violence against anyone.
Should simply holding a political ideology, no matter how extreme, be enough to get you kicked off a social media website? Radical Islamists such as Mohammed Hijab and fundamentalists Christians such as Steven Anderson remain on the platform because they do not directly advocate violence, and rightly so. But if this is the case, then why remove the fascists?
There is no such thing as a fair weather free speech advocate, and this is why. When anyone, no matter how disagreeable, loses their ability to debate, it is up to us to speak up for them. Not standing up for them sets a dangerous precedent, and under the current reign of progressive terror, chances are that ordinary conservatives are next on the chopping block.
The Pagans:
Getting back to the recent victims however, another group that was hit rather heavily in the recent crackdown were Right-wing pagans.
The first loss was Varg Vikernes who ran the prominent channel Thulean Perspective. First rising to prominence in the Death Metal scene, Vikernes was convicted for the arson of multiple churches and the murder of fellow musician Euronymous in 1994, though he denies this.
One would think this would end a man’s time in the spotlight, but Varg returned in a rather unexpected way. His Youtube channel focused on the theology of Norse paganism, family, and the importance of rejecting modern civilization for life in nature.
Though I hardly ever agreed with the man, Varg was always an interesting one to watch. His takes on social and political issues were always anything but boring, and his view of the world was in some ways almost enchanting in its simplistic love of nature.
Another victim, Marcus Follin (also known as The Golden One), is possibly one of the most positive Youtubers I know. Although politically very Right-wing, having traditional views on issues such as ethnicity, sexuality, and society, Follin always deals with the positives.
Focusing heavily on self-improvement, his content ranges from videogames to workout inspiration, all centred around what he calls ‘The Glorious Pill,’ which is basically the drive to both improve yourself and the world physically and spiritually.
While one could perhaps call Follin Alt-Right-ish (though he does not like the label himself), one could not accuse him of any sort of sectarianism or hate. Quite the opposite in fact, Follin is adamant about getting as many people to hear his ‘teachings’ as possible, no matter who they are or where they’re from. To him, having pride in yourself and where you came from does not mean hating others.
Although Follin has not been removed from the platform, the fact he can no longer make money off of videos is very worrying. Considering the fact that Follin was a moderating force on the platform, as evidenced by his amicable relationships with some of his political adversaries such as the far-left creator ContraPoints, his absence will only lead to further division.
The Weird:
While political commentators were the main target of Google’s @Gaywonk-inspired crackdown, they weren’t the only ones hit. Creators who instead focus on media reviews, music and even esports were significantly affected.
Xurious was one of the unlucky ones who had his channel completely erased from youtube. A music artist, Xurious most certainly was Right-wing in his outlook. Being one of the major forces in the Alt-Right’s music movement, his aggressive synthwave compositions sometimes sampled the likes of Mosley, Powell, and Kipling.
However, I want to put specific emphasis on the sometimes here. The vast majority of Xurious’ content was Instrumental only, and focused far more on mainstream politicians such as Trump and Farage than on the fringes of political philosophy.
At the end of the day, his content was just music. One of the guy’s most popular songs was a remix of the Evil Morty theme. Xurious’ content radicalized no one, and his removal will only lead to annoyance as people find their Youtube music playlists now have massive lines of [VIDEO REMOVED] in them.
Another loss that I am personally feeling is the deletion of some channels for the 4chan cup. For those of you unfamiliar, the 4chan cup, or the 4cc, is a digital football competition held quarterly. The competition is ‘held’ using Pro Evolution Soccer games, and involve all of the various boards of 4chan putting forward teams to play each other.
Thankfully, the main channel for the cup was not removed, but instead a side channel which focused on games involving the site’s ‘Politically Incorrect’ board, hosting both the recordings of the games of the main team, as those of the board’s internal mini league.
To have the recordings of so much of people’s efforts simply go up in smoke over one self-entitled journalist’s hissy fit is infuriating. The removal of these channels will probably further radicalize people out of anger, especially since many had an audience of those both involved and uninvolved in politics.
A Waste of Money and Time:
So what does all this mean in the greater scheme of things?
First off, this is going to do nothing in regards stemming the popularity of the Right online. While the demonetizations will hurt people’s bottom line, the volume of political videos is unlikely to decrease.
The worst affected by this move are undoubtedly going to be those on the centre-Right. The likes of Steven Crowder have become rather dependent on Youtube as a platform to make money as well as to spread their message. Now, with their future on the platform uncertain, so to is their financial security.
Those further to the right will remain almost completely unaffected by this. A group long plagued to digital persecution, the likes of the Alt-Right will simply fall back on their blockchain sites and underground image boards. Not making money from their work is the norm, not the exception, and presence on major social media sites are often seen as short term luxuries. For these guys, it’s just another day at the office. You can’t take much from a man when he already has nothing.
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