YouTube Attack on Journalism
- Graham Baates
- Nov 22, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 30, 2024
30NOV24 UPDATE: YouTube had become even more petty about it. They recently put "limited ads" on a video citing a specific time stamp. At that time stamp I say "over at my website which YouTube won't let me mention". They are dinging the financial viability of the channel for me mentioning the censorship. Please join us on Rumble.
Last week while away in Finland to help exhibit an advanced firearms training system I received 65 emails like this one all at once. YouTube had deleted 65 GBGuns videos en masse. They were removed for being "Content that facilitates the sale of certain regulated goods, like firearms, ammunition, or prohibited firearm accessories..."
It doesn't take a 5-year old to understand that GBGuns doesn't sell ANYTHING. We don't even sell T-shirts. This attack is obviously meant to suppress information about the safe and ethical use of firearms because the less people know about them, the more afraid of them they will be or more likely they are to hurt themselves; building and supporting the unraveling of our birth rights.
There was an appeal option that required 6 clicks per video and some typing.
While powering my laptop from a battery boost pack in the hotel I spent over an hour individually appealing each video removal before heading to breakfast. By the time the elevator had me at breakfast my phone was blowing up with all 65 responses.
What Was Lost?
65 videos and over 1,500,000 views were lost from the channel. As a creator this means a loss of momentum which the algorithm uses to gauge how future videos will be pushed; ie. if you'll see the videos or not in your feed.
Some of these videos were the only one of their type produced by a trained shooter who approaches videos with a balanced journalistic style.
Some of these videos were the first on the subject, as early as a year before any other channel showed the same thing.
Some of these videos are of now-discontinued guns or companies that have ceased to exist and served as historical reference.
Some of these videos were roundups that could only be completed after reviewing each individual piece included in them.
All of these videos were syndicated in one way or another meaning they were posted here or on other websites for reference and are now broken links scattered around the internet on news and manufacturer websites.
A List of videos deleted by YouTube:
What Can We Do?
I will try to debate with YouTube, but am not holding my breath.
Changes will be happening to this website, I will stop embedding YouTube videos and instead move to Rumble Links. Wix (the hosting service I pay for) does not allow Rumble embedding currently, but the links will still take you to the Rumble video.
If you are not signed up for the GBGunsDepot email list please do so, it is only used to let you know of articles publishing, and if you do not actively read and click the emails you are automatically removed from future emails (I don't spam, don't use the emails to try and sell you anything).
Subscribe to the GBGuns Rumble account. YouTube broke the syndication, but I will begin uploading there deliberately.
If you want to reduce the power of Google and YouTube, stop using Google as your search engine. YouTube's monopoly on traffic is largely in part to the fact that it is owned by Google and so any time you search for something you're going to be given YouTube results. Each one of us is less than a drop in the global bucket of web traffic, but we can support other companies instead.
I have my own political and ethical standards, and do my best to keep them private. My journalism is about firearms, recording history, helping people make educated deciscions, and not influencing them. This attack however is unacceptable. Rumble is promising to be a safe place for all content, even if the topic doesn't support authoritarianism. This attack is also a reminder of why I started this website in the first place. I thank each of you who have used the affiliate links to support this site; it's not cheap to run.
YT's behavior is starting to look like their petty form of revenge for the outcome of the POTUS election, meant to show their relevance in 'shaping the narrative'... I guess one response could be to report every post by a hard-left-leaning creator as inappropriate, salacious, or otherwise offensive. Another would be to cancel any YouTube Premium subscriptions we might have as a form of protest. Or we could all move to Rumble or Pepperbox, and tell YT to stick it...
I was wondering where your videos were. Collecting and sh**ting g!ns has been a life saver for me since retirement. I have always had a highly technical job and your videos are always pitched just right for learning. It is hard not to be paranoid but I hope that there will always be free thinking people that can form their own infrastructure to keep the lines of communication open.
Sorry to hear this. My channel seems to have been hit for over 100 videos which, like yours, didn't actually violate the rule cited. Appeals were denied as fast as I could file them. I've migrated all of my videos to Playeur and won't be loading any more content videos onto You Tube.
The word I would use to describe this isn't something I should probably type. Let's just say I'm furious!
What absolute rubbish by YouTube!
Rumble is fantastic and definitely supports its content creators.
Glad you have a channel there, just "followed."