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They Will Put Ads In Front Of Videos Made By Actual Nazis And Terrorists
YouTube might have revolutionized video content, but in order to make any money, it still relies on commercials the same way broadcast networks have had to for the past half century. But to offer advertisers the most bang for their buck, those commercials have to run across the entirety of YouTube. Which means that perfectly normal ads for air freshener might show up on a video that's just 12 minutes of a dude in his basement plotting the second Holocaust.
YouTube
"Hey, racists eat at Applebee's too."
Because of the site's convenient (more on that later) adherence to free speech, a lot of hatemongers have found a home away from their shitty, victory-less lives on Youtube. But even though these idiots mostly parrot the same four thoughts bigots have been spouting since the Iron Age, YouTube still counts them as original content, meaning they qualify for ad support. This can result in nice big businesses unintentionally associating themselves with extremists, like when the Marie Curie charity appeared in front of videos supporting ISIS and al-Qaeda. We're not sure who was more offended by that partnership.
But YouTube's doing everything to stop this, right? After all, its rules specifically state that "We do not permit hate speech." But then how do you explain that someone like David Duke, former Grand Wizard of the KKK and occasional political embarrassment, can upload a video claiming "the Jews" are "organizing a white genocide," and YouTube refusing to remove it? The company even admitted that the video was "anti-Semitic, deeply offensive, and shocking." But then again, YouTube benefits from everyone who visits their site, even hateful, racist dopes. It's insane how many videos pop up if you search "Hitler Was Right" with view counts that would make TV executives drool.
YouTube
Then again, the most-viewed video for that search is a video of Nazis getting shot in the balls, so maybe there's some hope.
So the ones that are "just on the borderline" -- which is how Google spokesperson Peter Barron described the musings of the former Head Racist of America -- get a pass long enough for every neo-Nazi to hum the Mercedes-Benz ad tune in their sleep. YouTube will eventually delete the outright threatening videos, but the company has not put any regulation in place permanently dealing with these violations, meaning YouTube will happily profit from hate speech right up until it stops being profitable (read: when too many advertisers complain).