00:00 YouTube has been a place of freedom, of self-expression, but after some YouTubers
00:03 discovered that their content centering around LGBTQ issues is no longer visible
00:08 when settings are put in restricted mode, important questions about what should
00:11 and should not be censored by YouTube are being asked by the community as a
00:15 whole. British YouTuber Neon Fiona posted two screenshots of her channel's video
00:19 tab. In the first, you can see what her channel looks like with no restrictions.
00:22 Notice how she's female and she's making mention of her girlfriend in some of the
00:25 titles. And then in the second image, she has restricted mode turned on. And while
00:29 anything making mention of herself a female having a girlfriend are now gone,
00:33 she shows you that making mention of having a boyfriend in the title, no
00:36 problem. Fiona is not the only one to draw attention to this. YouTuber Rowan Ellis
00:40 says that more than 40 of her videos disappear off her channel if you have
00:43 restricted mode on. "So this is something that no one's really sure how it's
00:47 working, but we know that it has some kind of targeted effect for
00:51 LGBT individuals." Irish vlogger Melanie Murphy's video titled "We're both
00:54 bisexual," which shows she and her sister as being part of the LGBTQ community and
00:59 discussing issues, cannot be viewed in restricted mode. And Melanie tweeted
01:03 this. "Can't believe that YouTube would restrict content that's more PC than
01:06 what you'd see on daytime TV and is educational and explorative in nature."
01:10 And after doing some investigation, we found that even some of our videos here
01:14 at What's Trending have been restricted.
01:17 The hashtag #YouTubeIsOverParty has even started trending on Twitter. One user
01:22 noted that Ariana Grande's blog featuring anti-bullying advice to her
01:25 gay fans also seemed to have disappeared in restricted mode. And others make
01:29 very valid points. Lydia tweets, "Racism. YouTube's response? Meh. Graphic violence.
01:34 YouTube's response? Meh. Positivity and love. YouTube's response?" And Kat tweets, "I'm
01:41 confused. Shouldn't these be restricted videos? #YouTubeIsOverParty." I
01:45 think what has a lot of people confused is that for the most part, YouTube seems
01:48 to have been really supportive of the LGBTQ community. They support Pride Month
01:52 every year, and they even launched a Proud to Be campaign, embracing the LGBTQ
01:57 community with pieces from Gigi Gorgeous, Trey Melvin, and Tyler Oakley, who I met
02:01 on the street one time and got all fangirl on him, and he's just as sweet in
02:04 person as he is on YouTube. Tyler Oakley actually responded on Twitter saying,
02:08 "Still not fixed. One of my recent videos, '8 Black LGBTQ Trailblazers Who Inspire Me'
02:13 is blocked because of this. I'm perplexed, YouTube." Even when he's perplexed, he's
02:17 still so sweet. In response to these questions and frustrations from the
02:21 community, YouTube creators recently tweeted, "We are so proud to represent
02:25 LGBTQ voices on our platform. They're a key part of what YouTube is all about. The
02:29 intention of restricted mode is to filter out mature content for the tiny
02:32 subset of our users who want a more limited experience. LGBTQ videos are
02:37 available in restricted mode, but videos that discuss more sensitive issues may
02:40 not be. We regret any confusion that this has caused and are looking into your
02:43 concerns. We appreciate your feedback and passion for making YouTube such an
02:47 inclusive, diverse, and vibrant community." And the statement has not done much to
02:51 make people any happier. Dottie says, "You're blocking everything with any hint
02:55 of LGBTQ. Videos of me swearing aren't restricted, but trans women makeup
02:59 tutorials are." And Stephanie Froche comments, "Taking down videos of LGBTQ
03:04 couples and not doing the same to straight ones isn't promoting
03:07 sensitivity, it's homophobia. Restricted mode is actually not new, and YouTube's
03:12 monetization policies based on extreme content have actually been a concern for
03:16 a while." So what do you think? Is YouTube intentionally blocking LGBTQ community
03:20 content? For more trends like these head to whatstrending.com
