Why I Don't Accept YouTube's 'Apology' for the Logan Paul Video
On Tuesday, YouTube released a statement via numerous “open letter” tweets, speaking about Logan Paul and the controversial video Paul filmed from the Aokigahara Forest in Japan, which is also known as the “Suicide Forest.”
Many of you have been frustrated with our lack of communication recently. You’re right to be. You deserve to know what’s going on Like many others, we were upset by the video that was shared last week. Suicide is not a joke, nor should it ever be a driving force for views. As Anna Akana put it perfectly: “That body was a person someone loved. You do not walk into a suicide forest with a camera and claim mental health awareness.”We expect more of the creators who build their community on @YouTube, as we’re sure you do too. The channel violated our community guidelines, we acted accordingly, and we are looking at further consequences. It’s taken us a long time to respond, but we’ve been listening to everything you’ve been saying. We know that the actions of one creator can affect the entire community, so we’ll have more to share soon on steps we’re taking to ensure a video like this is never circulated again.
On December 31st, 2017, YouTuber Logan Paul released a video showing a recently deceased man in the Aokigahara forest. It took over 6.3 million views and an outcry from various internet communities for him to decide to remove the video from his account. Paul removed it, not YouTube.
In the statement above, YouTube claims they “acted accordingly” in dealing with the situation.
So what does “acting accordingly” actually look like?
Apparently to YouTube, it means leaving a video showing a recently deceased man in the Aokigahara forest in the number one slot of their “trending” videos, videos promoted by YouTube specifically to garner views and raise ad revenue.
In my opinion, Youtube, the decision to leave a video showing a recently deceased man at the top of your highest ad revenue garnering avenue already proved how you see things. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the quote: “Controversy creates cash.“
I, for one, am not willing to take YouTube’s “apology” at face value. In this situation, I believe YouTube has proven that cash is where they make their bed.
YouTube, you say that you will look at further consequences, and that statement alone shows how completely out of touch you are with this entire situation. You will claim that you care, that you believe suicide and mental health are not for video shares and profit, but you acted in a way that proves you do not practice what you preach — not to mention this “apology” doesn’t ever truly apologize.
“Suicide is not a joke and should never be a driving force for views,” you said. But on December 31st, 2017, you showed the exact opposite. YouTube saw a video featuring a deceased man, on the channel of one of YouTube’s most popular content creators, placed it at the top of the trending videos, sat back and watched over 6.3 million views click onto the video…
If you or someone you know needs help, visit our suicide prevention resources page.
If you need support right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text “START” to 741-741.
We want to hear your story. Become a Mighty contributor here.
Screenshot via Logan Paul YouTube channel