YouTube demonetized Onision for violating its Creator Responsibility policies off the platform

[Jet_ski]

Summary

YouTube demonetized Onision for violating its Creator Responsibility policies off the platform. Onision is known for making the Banana Song (I’m a banana) among other things. In a later tweet, YouTube confirmed that Onision has been "suspended indefinitely" from receiving advertising revenue garnered on the platform.

 

Onision, whose real name is Gregory James Jackson, is a controversial YouTuber who has been accused of abuse and grooming by at least six women. In a video uploaded on Tuesday, he bid farewell to the YouTube community following his removal from the YouTube Partner Program. Onision has denied all the accusations made against him.

 

A YouTube spokesperson further confirmed to Mashable that the removal from the YouTube Partner Program includes Onision's side channels, UhOhBro and Onision Speaks, as well as his main one. He has a combined 5.3 million subscribers across the three channels. The spokesperson added that if a creator's off-platform behavior harms YouTube users, the community, its employees, or ecosystem, YouTube "may take action" to protect its community. This specific ban, YouTube said, pertained to "off-platform behavior related to child safety," which violated the platform's Creator Responsibility Policy.

 

According to YouTube, these behaviors are "rare" but can still cause "widespread harm to the YouTube community, and potentially damage the trust among creators, users, and advertisers." 

 

Quotes

Quote

A YouTube spokesperson added that if a creator's off-platform behavior harms YouTube users, the community, its employees, or ecosystem, YouTube "may take action" to protect its community. This specific ban, YouTube said, pertained to "off-platform behavior related to child safety," which violated the platform's Creator Responsibility Policy.

 

Quote

YouTube didn't elaborate on a specific instance in which Onision endangered a child off-platform. A majority of the women who accused Onision of abuse were minors when he and his husband, Kai Avaroe, pursued relationships with them.

 

Quote

Onision is the subject of a recent discovery+ documentary that outlines the allegations and his history of pursuing romantic relationships with his much younger fans, many of whom were teenagers when they met online. 

 

My thoughts

This is a reminder for parents and advertisers that while the contents of a channel might be safe for children, the creators might not be.

 

There’s also the issue of why did it take YouTube so long to react. As early as 2019 rumors and allegations surfaced that this guy was taking advantage of his underage viewers. Did it take YouTube 14 months to have someone look into this?

 

Sources

https://mashable.com/article/youtube-onision-demonetized/

https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/26/20984785/onision-doxxing-patreon-deplatformed-twitter-youtube

 

https://mashable.com/article/onision-in-real-life-documentary-controversy-explained/

[Moonzy]

"5.3mil subs across 3 accounts"

And I'm like.. who?

 

Man having 1 mil sub is nothing now

[RejZoR]

18 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

"5.3mil subs across 3 accounts"

And I'm like.. who?

 

Man having 1 mil sub is nothing now

People think Youtube celebrities are anything on a global scale. Mention PewDiePie to casual people and I bet you no one will know who he even is. And he's the biggest Youtuber. Hell, same with Linus and Linus Tech Tips. They are well known in tech circles, but outside of that, they are nobodies. It's just the reality of things where only truly worldwide mainstream celebrities can have that status of "Yeah, that's that guy/girl" that everyone instantly recognizes.

 

It makes even more cringy when Instagramers ask for free things from restaurants, hotels and companies in general and then go on and brag how they have 300.000 followers on Instagram. Dude/girl, you're an absolute nobody. Like, literally nobody.

 

Also Onision is a very weird guy on so many levels and for some reason he has a massive fanbase mostly consisting of younger girls. Which makes it even more bizarre. You understand why teenage boys follow PewDiePie, you know why geeky boys follow Linus/LTT, but my god I can't wrap my mind around why young girls follow Onision.

[captain_to_fire]

Who the fuck is Onision? Because I seriously don’t know. 

[Video Beagle]

1 hour ago, RejZoR said:

 

It makes even more cringy when Instagramers ask for free things from restaurants, hotels and companies in general and then go on and brag how they have 300.000 followers on Instagram. Dude/girl, you're an absolute nobody. Like, literally nobody.

Hell, I have over a thousand followers on my youtube channel and I don't post anything but the occasional commerical that has a beagle in it....there's like 10 things from a span of 10 or 15 years.

[Arika]

TIL Onision was still around...

[Master Disaster]

8 minutes ago, Arika S said:

TIL Onision was still around...

TIL Onison existed, sounds like he probably shouldn't though.

[williamcll]

Getting banned for grooming? Okay.

Getting banned for breaking exclusivity? ehhhhh.

 

>inb4 LTT gets demonetized for uploading videos on floatplane.

[cj09beira]

this dude has been doing shady stuff for decades, i followed some of it years ago, its been so long i barely remember any of it, i dont like banning people (light is the best disinfectant), but if youtube is going to do it he was a prime candidate.

[wamred]

5 hours ago, Moonzy said:

"5.3mil subs across 3 accounts"

And I'm like.. who?

 

Man having 1 mil sub is nothing now

Same

[bit]

good, fuck this creep

[Doobeedoo]

Knew about him for a long time, to say the least he has issues, he's f***** completely.

[DildorTheDecent]

Been wondering when Onision would get yeeted off YouTube. Surprised it took this long.

[Vishera]

While i agree that Onision has gone nuts,

Demonetizing someone for something they did off the platform is dictating what they can and can't do in their lives,

That's really bad and scary.

[wanderingfool2]

1 hour ago, Vishera said:

While i agree that Onision has gone nuts,

Demonetizing someone for something they did off the platform is dictating what they can and can't do in their lives,

That's really bad and scary.

In all fairness to youtube though advertisers are paying to have ads run, and if their ads are run on someone who has sparked a lot of controversy that can be a major problem.  Similar to how you have a lot of celebrity endorsed advertisements that get pulled when the celebrity does something controversial.   In this case as well though, it's using the fame and draw from his YouTube audience to allegedly to some pretty horrible things.

 

Even before the days of YouTube, that is how advertising worked...even on a more global scale that is how many things work (not strictly in the space of the internet)

[Heliian]

2 hours ago, Vishera said:

While i agree that Onision has gone nuts,

Demonetizing someone for something they did off the platform is dictating what they can and can't do in their lives,

That's really bad and scary.

If this guy was using YouTube to groom then it is directly related.  

Even so, if the guy is a rapist then banning him is in public interest.

 

Edit: if Chris Hansen is doing a show on you, you're probably a creep. 

[bit]

2 hours ago, Vishera said:

While i agree that Onision has gone nuts,

Demonetizing someone for something they did off the platform is dictating what they can and can't do in their lives,

That's really bad and scary.

it is very scary that we will not platform the creepy pedos. It's like 1984. They should have equal right to groom anyone they want.

[RejZoR]

1 hour ago, wanderingfool2 said:

In all fairness to youtube though advertisers are paying to have ads run, and if their ads are run on someone who has sparked a lot of controversy that can be a major problem.  Similar to how you have a lot of celebrity endorsed advertisements that get pulled when the celebrity does something controversial.   In this case as well though, it's using the fame and draw from his YouTube audience to allegedly to some pretty horrible things.

 

Even before the days of YouTube, that is how advertising worked...even on a more global scale that is how many things work (not strictly in the space of the internet)

Creep or not, I've had and still have issue with this bullshit guilt by association. Just because Coca Cola ad rolls before Onision video, that doesn't mean Coca Cola endorses him. It's literally automated allocation of ads. If Coca Cola pays 300.000 advertisements, Google has to play that many to somewhat related viewers. Or whatever system they are using. But dumb people started this whole "safe for advertisers" bullshit by being outraged over things they don't understand at all, but associated it because it played together. That's the same level of retardation as saying Nokia or Casio were endorsing terrorism because terrorists in movies often used them. That's the level of stupid in this.

[wanderingfool2]

26 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

Creep or not, I've had and still have issue with this bullshit guilt by association. Just because Coca Cola ad rolls before Onision video, that doesn't mean Coca Cola endorses him. It's literally automated allocation of ads. If Coca Cola pays 300.000 advertisements, Google has to play that many to somewhat related viewers. Or whatever system they are using. But dumb people started this whole "safe for advertisers" bullshit by being outraged over things they don't understand at all, but associated it because it played together. That's the same level of retardation as saying Nokia or Casio were endorsing terrorism because terrorists in movies often used them. That's the level of stupid in this.

By having ad's it more than just guilt by association.  YouTube is paying him; by continuing to run ads they would be actively supporting his lifestyle. 

[Vishera]

31 minutes ago, bit said:

it is very scary that we will not platform the creepy pedos. It's like 1984. They should have equal right to groom anyone they want.

I am not justifying his actions,but what a person is doing off the platform has nothing to do with the platform,

It's like getting banned in a video game for cheating in a different game.

 

It's not Youtube's job to enforce the law,nor their morals outside of Youtube.

If Onision did something illegal the relevant authorities should deal with him,not Youtube.

[RejZoR]

Just now, Vishera said:

I am not justifying his actions,but what a person is doing off the platform has nothing to do with the platform,

It's like getting banned in a video game for cheating in a different game.

 

It's not Youtube's job to enforce the law,nor their morals outside of Youtube.

If Onision did something illegal the relevant authorities should deal with him,not Youtube.

Yeah, the issue is that offended people argue it's the persona associated with the evil things even outside the platform also personifies that on the platform even if the actions are not actually carried on the platform in question. Like, if you set puppies on fire off platform, they'll deplatform you because you're setting puppies on fire. Which raises many ethical questions on both sides. Like, sure, the person setting puppies on fire is pure evil, but he's not doing it on the platform. So, what do you do? Do you apply ToS or do you apply higher morals and deplatform that person anyway? It's a weird situation...

[Vishera]

19 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

offended people

It's called populism.

19 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

apply higher morals and deplatform that person

Cancel culture

 

19 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

if you set puppies on fire off platform

The police should deal with him,as far as i am aware Youtube is not the court of law nor the police,

People endorsing it give way for a wider use of it,it's dangerous since it's a power that corporations must not have,leave these things to the law.

It can be abused - just like they did with our privacy,Micro-transactions,right to repair and now this?.

It's very dangerous and can lead us one step further to corporate dictatorship.

 

(The power i am talking about is the power of enforcement)

[RejZoR]

13 minutes ago, Vishera said:

It's called populism.

Cancel culture

 

The police should deal with him,as far as i am aware Youtube is not the court of law nor the police,

People endorsing it give way for a wider use of it,it's dangerous since it's a power that corporations must not have,leave these things to the law.

It can be abused - just like they did with our privacy,Micro-transactions,right to repair and now this?.

It's very dangerous and can lead us one step further to corporate dictatorship.

 

(The power i am talking about is the power of enforcement)

Yeah, but from what I can see, they always argue with "this person doing X off platform is damaging our image".

[Vishera]

8 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

Yeah, but from what I can see, they always argue with "this person doing X off platform is damaging our image".

Popular Instagram models that promote scams don't damage it's reputation?,

Or extremists that promote really bad stuff on twitter don't damage it's image?

It's just Youtube or it's advertisers that want to control the people on the platform,that is used by billions of people.

[wanderingfool2]

3 minutes ago, Vishera said:

Popular Instagram models that promote scams don't damage it's reputation?,

Or extremists that promote really bad stuff on twitter don't damage it's image?

It's just Youtube or it's advertisers that want to control the people on the platform,that is used by billions of people.

There is definitely hypocrisy in terms of some of the things that get people banned vs not...but at the same time, context to this situation is very key.

 

An example being that he doxxxed someone on Twitter (and thus banned).  What people do in their free time yes might be up to them...but when a revenue stream is built off of a brand/reputation then what you do online or what becomes public is relevant.  It's not like YouTube banned him from their platform...he is just isn't allowed monetizing his channel's anymore.