YouTube has upset many in the YouTube community after it sent an email explaining it was going to unverify thousands of creators.
Many in the LGBT+ YouTube creators’ community feel angry and disproportionally affected after the platform said it would unverify already approved accounts during October. This comes on top on many complaining about having their content, particularly more adult in nature, being demonetised.
The move according to YouTube will make the platform “more consistent” for users and creators.
YouTube laid out its criteria for verification saying that verified users must
- have a large audience and community on YouTube
- Be widely recognised outside of YouTube and have a strong online presence
- Have a channel that could be confused with another channel on YouTube.
Many who have taken to Twitter to complain that they had received an email from YouTube have millions of subscribers and feel that they are well-known outside the YouTube community.
“Feels like undervaluing hardworking individuals”
User, Amp Somers who is a sex educator and co-host of the YouTube channel @watts the safe word which has over 198,000 subscribers explained why the changes were bad news for creators, writing,
“We worked hard to get to where our channel is, and I know other creators who work even harder getting this same treatment. This feels like undervaluing hardworking individuals and making sure celebrities and large corporations get preference on the platform. And that bothers me.
“Let’s be clear, verification doesn’t really mean much on YouTube functionally, but it’s a huge slap in the face to creators who’ve spent years trying to be validated by a platform. It’s just poor taste and disrespectful to the community”.
We're no longer verified on YouTube so joining the bandwagon. I get we aren't the biggest channel, but what even is this update for @TeamYouTube?
Creators have to have people impersonating them or make waves in the news (which is usually just drama) in order to get verified? pic.twitter.com/jM9MtRoKEl
— PupAmp (@PupAmp) September 19, 2019
THEGAYUK.com reached out to YouTube for comment on whether the LGBT+ creator’s community was being disproportionally affected, which they did not answer, instead pointing us towards a generic blog post.
