The topic of YouTube censorship is highly debated, with people holding different viewpoints on its positive or negative impact. Here are some perspectives on both sides:
Positives Cited
1. Protecting users: YouTube’s censorship policies aim to remove inappropriate or offensive content that can harm users, especially minors. They try to create a safer environment by filtering explicit material, hate speech, or content promoting violence.
2. Quality control: By monitoring and removing certain content, YouTube can ensure that the platform maintains a certain standard of quality. It helps prevent spam, scams, or misleading information, providing a more reliable experience for users.
3. Community guidelines: YouTube’s censorship also helps enforce their community guidelines, which are designed to foster a respectful and inclusive community. By removing content that violates these guidelines, they aim to promote a positive atmosphere on the platform.
Negatives Cited
1. Limited freedom of expression: Censorship on YouTube could potentially restrict people’s right to express their opinions or share content that goes against certain narratives or ideologies. This can undermine freedom of speech and impede open discussions on various topics.
2. Bias and subjectivity: Implementing censorship policies can result in subjective judgments and biases. Different individuals or groups may interpret content differently, leading to inconsistencies and potentially unfair removal of videos or demonetization of channels.
3. Reduced artistic creativity: Censorship policies may discourage creators from exploring controversial, thought-provoking, or unconventional content. This can stifle artistic creativity and limit the diversity of content available on the platform.
4. Suppression of marginalized voices: Censorship could disproportionately affect marginalized or underrepresented communities, making it difficult for them to share their stories, perspectives, or experiences. This further exacerbates existing inequalities and restricts the platform’s potential for inclusivity.
5. Lack of transparency: YouTube’s algorithms and moderation practices are not always transparent, making it unclear why certain videos or channels are being censored. This lack of transparency can create mistrust among users and lead to concerns about potential manipulation or biases in the platform’s censorship process.
6. Potential for abuse of power: Censorship policies provide the platform with significant control and authority over the content that is allowed or prohibited. This power can potentially be abused or used for political or economic purposes, with certain voices being silenced or promoted based on ulterior motives.
7. Limitation on educational opportunities: YouTube serves as an essential educational resource, providing a wide range of tutorials, lectures, and educational content. Censorship could hinder access to valuable educational materials and limit the platform’s potential as a learning tool.
8. Inconsistent enforcement: YouTube’s enforcement of its censorship policies sometimes appears inconsistent, with some videos or channels being allowed to remain despite violating the guidelines, while others are swiftly removed or demonetized. This inconsistency can undermine trust in the platform’s decision-making process.
9. Tech Overlording: Google, YouTube’s owner, has a monopoly in the search engine space and they control YouTube content with policy decisions as well. One reason to use alternatives is simply that no one group should have undue influence on what most humans on the planet want to say and watch others say.
As a summary of the debate, while some argue for stricter content moderation to counter harmful or misleading information, others advocate for a more open, laissez-faire approach to allow for robust discussions and diverse perspectives.
Alternatives to YouTube:
1. Alternative video-sharing platforms: There are several platforms like Vimeo, Dailymotion, or Bitchute that offer similar services to YouTube, where users can upload and share videos without the same level of content censorship.
2. Self-hosting: Content creators can choose to host their videos on their own websites or platforms, giving them complete control over their content without being subject to any external censorship policies.
3. Decentralized platforms: Some emerging technologies, such as blockchain-based platforms, aim to create decentralized video-sharing platforms. These platforms often emphasize transparency and censorship resistance.
Opinions on YouTube censorship can vary significantly, and the perceived positives or negatives may depend on personal beliefs or experiences.
There are several alternatives to YouTube that offer low censorship. Some of the most popular ones include DTube, LBRY (now Odysee), PeerTube, Veoh, Twitch, TED, 9GAG TV, The Internet Archive, Bitchute, Rumble and BitTube[1][2][3][4]. These platforms prioritize free speech and offer ad-free experiences. However, some of them may have controversial or inaccurate content, and some may require paid tiers for more content and utility. It is important to note that internet censorship is a global issue, with countries like China, North Korea, and Iran having the highest levels of censorship[5].
No Views Problem
Here’s an example of why the tech monopolies are persisting. This video is a good dance and it had literally one view after nine months on the PeerTube instance where I found it. Peer tube lets you easily embed videos, so I’m embedding it here. Perhaps she will get a few more views! The point is, if everyone was encouraged to consume real content from ordinary people who make cool things on alternative media, censorship of different political views and medical information would not even be possible. Explore the alternatives.
What is PeerTube? Here is an answer!
Closing Thoughts
If you could make your own YouTube, what types of videos would you have on it? For me it would be a lot of non-commercial musicians, singer songwriters helping each other. You can find this on YouTube now but the algorithm hides new users in favor of popular users, so it is very hard to get started and be found unless you know people in person and start that way. This is because YouTube has to make Google money and they do that by advertisers paying for views. Thus, you can now post for months and get no views on YouTube.
Citations:
[1] https://surfshark.com/blog/youtube-alternatives
[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/rmvxwf/any_good_youtube_alternatives/?rdt=44081
[3] https://ideaexplainers.com/video-sites-like-youtube/
[4] https://www.rankred.com/best-youtube-alternatives/
[5] https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/internet-censorship-map/
[6] https://pandavpnpro.com/blog/fight-youtube-censorship
[7] https://nordvpn.com/blog/youtube-alternatives/
[8] https://savemyleads.com/blog/useful/best-youtube-alternatives
[9] https://kinsta.com/blog/alternatives-to-youtube/
[10] https://www.gizchina.com/2023/05/29/here-are-11-great-alternatives-to-youtube/