YouTube
In what might be one of the most ironic actions YouTube has taken recently, the company thanked Philip DeFranco for his YouTube video about the Momo Challenge and linked to the video after the video had already been demonetized.
DeFranco, a popular YouTube personality, has been having ongoing issues with YouTube demonetization, as many other channels have too. It’s been such an issue that many have dubbed this the “adpocalypse.” Some creators were forced to leave YouTube entirely because of the demonetization.
But yesterday, YouTube shared DeFranco’s YouTube video about the Momo Challenge, thanking him. YouTube wrote: “Thanks, @PhillyD, for debunking the Momo Challenge and encouraging parents to flag inappropriate content for us.”
Thanks, @PhillyD, for debunking the Momo Challenge and encouraging parents to flag inappropriate content to us.
Ironically, that very video had been marked as demonetized. DeFranco shared this in a tweet.
He wrote: “A story in 2 parts. ???”
The first screenshot showed YouTube thanking him:
Twitter/DeFranco
His second screenshot showed the yellow dollar sign next to the exact video YouTube had shared:
Twitter/DeFranco
ArsTechnica explained that the yellow dollar sign appearing next to videos means they have either been completely demonetized or they’ve been marked as only able to earn limited money from YouTube advertisements for one of two reasons: because it’s not suitable for all advertisers or because it doesn’t meet the company’s guidelines. (A dollar sign that’s black and has a slash through it means that it can’t earn money from advertising or YouTube Red — now Premium — because of a copyright or content claim or a community guidelines strike.
So it’s ironic to see the yellow dollar sign on a video that YouTube shared on Twitter.
DeFranco and many others have been having issues with YouTube demonetization policies for some time. De Franco shared a story about accidental demonetization just earlier this week.
He used Shane Dawson’s accidental demonetization because of a conspiracy series as an example of the problems with the policies.
In fact, in late 2018 DeFranco pushed back against reports that the demonetization issues were getting better, Polygon reported. In fact, he threatened to invest time in other platforms because of it.
Creators have said it’s tough to know what’s OK and what’s not, since YouTube seems to “flip flop” about its demonetization policies and decisions.
In fact, when YouTube shared DeFranco’s video, many fans were quick to point out the irony.
Fans also responded to DeFranco when he pointed out the irony on Twitter.
@PhillyD @ YouTube
@PhillyD Youtube: “Thank you for Debunking this story”
Also Youtube: “Because you talked about this story, it is not advertiser friendly and it is now demonetized”
YouTube hasn’t made any statements about relaxing its demonetization policies, so it may continue to lose creators as they lose their income streams.