YouTube Pride video flooded with dislikes and homophobic comments
A video by YouTube celebrating Pride month has been hit with a wave of dislikes and homophobic comments.
YouTube marked June’s Pride Month with the hashtag #ProudToCreate and a video showcasing some of the ways in which the LGBT community uses the platform.
The video features a wide range of LGBT celebrities, including Adam Rippon, Tyler Oakley, Peppermint and Hayley Kiyoko, as well as including moments from the video ofJanelle Monáe’s recent bisexual anthem.
In a statement accompanying the video, YouTube said: “Our LGBTQ community has an extraordinary legacy of turning adversity into creativity and self-expression.
“On YouTube, we’ve seen LGBTQ creators use their voices to share their stories, their art, their music, and their passions to help shift culture, increase visibility, and create change.
“We are so proud of the contributions you have made to the platform; you’ve helped make YouTube what it is today.”
However, since being posted on Thursday, the video has been flooded with homophobic comments and dislikes.
Related: YouTube admits it has a Neo-Nazi problem
As of June 9, the video had over 110,000 dislikes, in comparison to only 43,000 likes.
(YouTubeSpotlight / YouTube)
Many of the negative comments criticised the idea of Pride month in general, suggesting that heterosexual people deserve their own straight pride month.
One commenter stated: “Where is straight pride month?”
“You don’t need a month to show you’re gay, in the trash you go,” another added.
Some commenters hit out at LGBT people as inherently indecent or not safe for children, in a very familiar homophobic trope.
One wrote: “I thought YouTube was family friendly?”
(jm3 / Flickr)
However, many of the negative comments were from pro-LGBT people, who used the comment section to complain about what they saw as hypocrisy from the platform.
YouTube has faced harsh criticism for allegedly removing adverts – and therefore income – from videos that explicitly mention LGBT content in the title.
YouTube has denied claims that videos would be marked ineligible for adverts based on LGBT content in the title.
One of the most rated comments in YouTube’s Pride video reads: “But you guys still demonetize people for acknowledging their LGBT lives in video titles?”
(YouTube)
YouTube sparked a large backlash earlier this month after several LGBT+ video makers on the platform complained that their videos were being “targeted” by explicitly anti-LGBT adverts.
These adverts allegedly range from ultra-conservative rants comparing being gay to abuse and paedophilia to political messages in support of anti-LGBT legislation.
Some of the adverts were notably posted by campaign group Alliance Defending Freedom, which was officially marked as an anti-LGBT hate group in 2017.
As part of the release of the #ProudToCreate video, YouTube addressed these issues.
(YouTube)
The platform said: “Over the past few days, we’ve heard many questions around monetization and how ads are served against videos by LGBTQ creators.
“We know this has been both confusing and painful, and want you to know that we hear you. YouTube is an open platform and we support the free expression of creators with a wide range of views.”
The statement continued: “But we don’t allow paid advertising that disparages people based on who they are and we remove ads that violate this basic principle.”
