Overview

#YouTubeWakeUp refers to a social media campaign to raise awareness about the prevalence of sharing sexually explicit videos that feature children on YouTube. According to reports, the comments sections of various monetized and heavily-viewed YouTube videos are "less than five clicks" from illegal content. Some have viewed the campaign's founder as using the issue for self-enrichment and could lead to a second Adpocalypse in which advertisers began boycotting videos on the platform, disrupting the income and economics of YouTubers.

Background

On February 17th, 2019, YouTuber MattsWhatItIs (real name Matt Watson) posted the video "Youtube is Facilitating the Sexual Exploitation of Children, and it's Being Monetized (2019)." In the video, Watson explained how "YouTube’s recommended algorithm is facilitating pedophiles’ ability to connect with each-other, trade contact info, and link to actual [child pornography] in the comments." This is done both by the algorithm recommending videos of children, similar to the ones in question, as well as users turning the comments section into an area where they can share timestamp links that allow viewers to jump to moments in the video where the child is in a position that may showcase specific body parts. He continued to explain that these videos, whcih are sometimes only five clicks from illegal content, are being "monetized by Youtube, brands like McDonald’s, Lysol, Disney, Reese’s, and more." The post received more than two million views in four days (shown below).

Developments

The following day, Watson hosted a YouTube live chat, calling on people to use the hashtag #YouTubeWakeUp to help "crush this exploitation ring" and make the campaign go viral (shown below).

Online Reaction

Many online supported the efforts to raise awareness about the issue. Twitter user @TheADHDemon tweeted,^[1] "Youtube is quickly becoming the pornhub for pedophiles and you guys don't even give half a shit to do anything about it." The tweet received more than 85 retweets and 300 likes in three days (shown below, left).

Twitter^[2] user @brienwin tweeted, "YouTube has been allowing the spread of child pornography/ allowing pedophelic behavior to roam its site. I have ZERO tolerance for the sexualizing of young children. This has been an issue for YEARS and needs to stop today. #youtubewakeup" Within three days, the tweet received more tahn 50 retweets and 120 likes (shown below, center).

Some attempted to reach out to prominent YouTubers, such as PewDiePie. Twitter^[3] user kaie9620 tweeted, "pewdiepie just wondering if you were planning on saying anything about #Youtubewakeup ? Actually really curious on your opinion." The tweet received more than 25 retweets and 195 likes in three days (shown below, right).

Some online accused Watson of acting in bad faith in regards to the campaign, using the issue for self-enrichment and fame. On February 19th, YouTuber Keemstar published a video about Watson, calling him a "fraud" and accusing him of starting the campaign for his own fame. Keemstar points to Watson's old videos of Watson in which he harassed women. He also defends YouTube, stating that he reached out to the company, who claimed to be working to fix the issue. The post received more than 1.2 million views in two days (shown below).

On February 20th, 2019, Keemstar accused Watson of starting "Adpocalypse 2." He tweeted, "This guy started the Adpocalypse 2 cus he wanted to be on the news #Sad." The tweet received more than 775 retweets and 7,800 likes in 24 hours (shown below).

This guy started the Adpocalypse 2 cus he wanted to be on the news #Sad pic.twitter.com/f0ONzOUFY1

— KEEM 🍿 (@KEEMSTAR) February 20, 2019

On February 21st, Redditor ^[4] posted strikedv11 in the /r/OutOfTheLoop subreddit. The post received more than 2,400 points (95% upvoted) and 235 comments.

Media Coverage

Several media outlets covered the campaign, including Newsweek,^[5] Wired^[6] and more.

Search Interest

External References