Youtube Censors Educational Video For Using Same Graphic Images as CNN & MSNBC

Matt Orfalea
Nov 1 · 3 min read

Youtube upheld their decision to age-restrict my video, while CNN & MSNBC use the exact same graphic images in their Youtube videos without the same restrictions.

Youtube age-restricted my educational documentary on Bernie Sanders for using “graphic content” in a section on America’s role in the Yemen Civil War.

The notification explained, “We review content on a case by case basis and will only make limited exceptions for appropriate educational, documentary, artistic, and scientific contexts, where the purpose of posting is clear.”

The purpose of my video is clearly “educational” and “documentary” so I appealed, writing:

“This is an educational documentary using images broadcast on mainstream news (CNN, MSNBC). These images are not age-restricted on the large corporate news Youtube channels, so why should they be restricted on a smaller independent channel like mine? In addition to that, the images document important current events — what the UN calls “The world’s worst humanitarian disaster”. And they are used very sparingly, making up only a tiny fraction (a couple 1–2 second shots) of this much longer 13 minute documentary.”

Approximately 2 hours after I submitted my appeal, Youtube upheld their decision to age-restrict my video, while CNN & MSNBC use the exact same graphic images in their Youtube videos without the same restrictions.

Not only do the corporate media’s Youtube videos use the same imagery, the gruesome images take up a much larger portion of the corporate news videos than they do in mine.

I used 2 seconds of this image from MSNBC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Heh1VQcvl3A

The uncensored MSNBC video features many additional graphic images — images I chose not use including this one:

I used two shots (less than 2 seconds each) of this image from CNN.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndOJEVJufws

Like the MSNBC video, the CNN video also included additional graphic images I chose not to use in my video.

Additional graphic image used in CNN’s video that is not used in my video.

I also used significantly less graphic images of the Yemen War from a VICE video that is not age-restricted.

Youtube’s decision to censor my video but not CNN’s or MSNBC’s is a clear case of unfair enforcement of Youtube’s community guidelines, favoring large for-profit corporations, and hurting independent video creators.

UPDATE: In addition to banning high school aged students, and anyone of any age without a youtube account from viewing, the age-restriction also eliminates the option of a share button for some mobile users.

Normally there would be a share button between the thumbs and download button.

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Matt Orfalea

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http://youtube.com/ORF