https://www.forbes.com/sites/meganhills1/2018/06/04/youtube-anti-lgbt-ads/
It's officially the beginning of Pride month, however the celebrations at YouTube appear to be lukewarm at best. The video streaming platform, which has long been a haven for independent LGBTQ+ creatives, has recently been accused by users and channels of running advertisements by anti-LGBTQ+ brands against creator content.
Screenshots and videos of a YouTube advertisement by Alliance Defending Freedom were circulated on Twitter. Alliance Defending Freedom is a legal firm that has historically fought against LGBTQ+ legislation, including the transgender bathroom debate, same-sex marriage and denying LGBTQ+ couples the right to adopt children. One member went as far as to claim that the death of Matthew Shepard, a gay man whose torture and subsequent ignited landmark hate crime legislation, had been "debunked as a homosexual hate crime" and was a part of the "homosexual agenda". Alliance Defending Freedom are currently classed as an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Centre.
While some instances of the advertisement ran against unrelated content including Buzzfeed News, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and YouTube personality Pewdiepie's videos, fans noted that the advertisements were also running against LGBTQ+ creator content.
Chase Ross, a transgender creator who speaks openly about his transition from female to male on his channel uppercaseCHASE1, told Forbes that he had been sent screenshots of ADF's advertisements on his video running two months ago but explained that he thought it was a "one time thing and a mistake". However, it soon became clear that it was a recurring problem.
Ross said, "Yesterday a bunch of people tweeted me more screenshots and videos of anti-LGBT ads (specifically from Alliance Defending Freedom). This started up the conversation with other LGBT+ YouTubers and we all realized our videos had anti-LGBT ads placed on them."
The advertisement from Alliance Defending Freedom is a four minute thirty second clip, which revolves around florist Baronnelle Stutzman. In it, Stutzman describes how she told a client that she could not create floral arrangements for his wedding to a man based on her religious beliefs - that man and his partner later filed a discrimination lawsuit titled Arlene's Flowers v Ferguson, which they ultimately won in 2015. The video ends with a call to subscribe to Alliance Defending Freedom's YouTube and Twitter channels.
Another screenshot provided by a fan showed another advert by conservative commentator ASKDrBrown running against Ross' video regarding his five years post-female-to-male top surgery. ASKDrBrown's advert titled "CAN YOU BE GAY AND CHRISTIAN?" calls homosexuality "a sin", while citing instances from the Bible as alleged evidence.
Another tweet by bisexual YouTuber Gaby Dunn of Just Between Us quickly picked up speed on social media, in which she said she had been alerted to similar advertisements on her channel by her fans. She then asked her community if they had noted any other occurrences, which prompted a flood of comments.
One user responded with a screenshot, saying, "Same happened to me a few days ago with a [Just Between Us] video. In support of an anti lgbt lawsuit based on religious freedom. I couldn’t believe YouTube would allow the ad to run. Honestly super upsetting."
Another revealed that they had actually seen the ads running on two of Just Between Us videos two months prior, specifically videos titled "Gay Allison" and "Why I'm Not Polyamorous Anymore".
Forbes reached out to a representative for Gaby Dunn's channel for additional insight into the situation, however was told that they had no further comment at this time.
Other users also began to note additional creators' videos who they had seen anti-gay advertisements, which include Dodie, Anna Akana, the Philip DeFranco Show, vlogbrothers and others.
Currently, YouTubers who reach a certain threshold of subscribers and viewers are invited to join the streaming service's Partner Program. Under the terms of service, they are allowed to earn revenue on the condition that their content remain "advertiser-friendly" and adhering to the platform's community guidelines. In return, YouTube is allowed to sell pre-roll and mid-roll advertising to brands which run against their videos - however those adverts must adhere to the same guidelines as any other creator's regular video, due to the fact that they must be uploaded as organic content to the platform first.
Despite YouTube's policy that videos whose "primary purpose is to attack a protected group" is strictly against their community guidelines, it appears as though the Alliance Defending Freedom and ASKDrBrown advertisements fall into a grey area. In its Hate Speech policy, YouTube acknowledged the "fine line" that some content can fall into and also stated, "We encourage free speech and try to defend your right to express unpopular points of view, but we don't permit hate speech."
The set up is one that strikes a particularly sour chord with LGBTQ+ creators like Ross, who have struggled with YouTube's strict monetisation policies. In the wake of the revelation that advertising was running against predatory videos targeted at children and extremist content, YouTube strengthened its auto-flagging algorithm and cracked down on channels that were deemed non-advertiser-friendly.
However, the service overcorrected when it began demonetising content that discussed LGBTQ+ issues and mental health - something that Ross is still fighting today.
He said, "I posted my 5 years post-op top surgery videoyesterday and it was demonetized instantly the second I added the word Transgender in the title…My content on trans issues being restricted makes me feel so unwelcome on a platform that the LGBT+ community helped form."
Ross continued, "I’m terrified. I’ve known 3 trans creators who have had their entire channels deleted, without strikes, so when my channel received a strike, I was terrified, and I still am! The anti-LGBT ads is just another stab and it really hurts."
Veteran YouTuber Hank Green also released a video statement in which he condemned the anti-gay advertisements running against LGBTQ+ content as "despicable" and "poison in the well". He called for a "higher standard for advertisements than there is for content" - YouTube confirmed to Forbes that under the current advertising model, any ad must "meet the advertiser-friendly guidelines and the community guidelines".
Green also suggested that YouTube introduce the option for creators to turn off controversial advertisements on their own videos. YouTube confirmed that this feature already exists, instructions for which can be seen in the image below and online here.
A spokesperson for YouTube told Forbes, "We have policiesagainst ads on YouTube that incite hatred or promote discrimination, and all ads that run on the platform have to comply with these policies. Even when an ad does not violate our policies, we understand that creators may not want ads from certain advertisers appearing on their videos. That’s why we give creators the ability to block ads from an advertiser in their AdSense account. We also give creators the option to block certain categories of ads if they choose. In the meantime, we are looking at ways to improve our policies going forward."
However, some creators like Ross and Green feel that these ads are targeting LGBTQ+ content - and more specifically, their audiences.
Ross said, "I don’t like this at all. I feel that maybe these anti-LGBT companies are doing on purpose to place their ads on LGBT content to try and get people who are maybe questioning their gender identity or sexuality. These individuals are in a vulnerable place and these anti-LGBT organizations are taking advantage of them. This isn’t right and I don’t like that YouTube is [letting] this happen. Anti-LGBT ads shouldn’t be placed on our videos."
When asked for clarification, YouTube explained that it is currently impossible to target a specific demographic.
They stated, "You cannot target ads to a set of people or an audience based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. We have a strict personalised ads policy and you cannot target specific demographics as prohibited by that policy. We do allow targeting by content, so we do allow gardening for example as one of the keywords that you’re looking to target."
It isn't impossible that perhaps some of these advertisers set their keyword targeting to specific phrases like "LGBT", "trans", amongst other words relevant to the LGBTQ+ community. And if so, it's a loophole that needs to be addressed. While it can be explained away as simple keyword targeting, these are words tied intrinsically to the audience and a specific demographic - by targeting these keywords, you target the LGBTQ+ community.
Megan C. Hills is a freelance journalist and blogger based in London, writing about YouTube and women's lifestyle. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram and on her blog.
It's officially the beginning of Pride month, however the celebrations at YouTube appear to be lukewarm at best. The video streaming platform, which has long been a haven for independent LGBTQ+ creatives, has recently been accused by users and channels of running advertisements by anti-LGBTQ+ brands against creator content.
Screenshots and videos of a YouTube advertisement by Alliance Defending Freedom were circulated on Twitter. Alliance Defending Freedom is a legal firm that has historically fought against LGBTQ+ legislation, including the transgender bathroom debate, same-sex marriage and denying LGBTQ+ couples the right to adopt children. One member went as far as to claim that the death of Matthew Shepard, a gay man whose torture and subsequent ignited landmark hate crime legislation, had been "debunked as a homosexual hate crime" and was a part of the "homosexual agenda". Alliance Defending Freedom are currently classed as an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Centre.
While some instances of the advertisement ran against unrelated content including Buzzfeed News, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and YouTube personality Pewdiepie's videos, fans noted that the advertisements were also running against LGBTQ+ creator content.
Chase Ross, a transgender creator who speaks openly about his transition from female to male on his channel uppercaseCHASE1, told Forbes that he had been sent screenshots of ADF's advertisements on his video running two months ago but explained that he thought it was a "one time thing and a mistake". However, it soon became clear that it was a recurring problem.
Ross said, "Yesterday a bunch of people tweeted me more screenshots and videos of anti-LGBT ads (specifically from Alliance Defending Freedom). This started up the conversation with other LGBT+ YouTubers and we all realized our videos had anti-LGBT ads placed on them."
The advertisement from Alliance Defending Freedom is a four minute thirty second clip, which revolves around florist Baronnelle Stutzman. In it, Stutzman describes how she told a client that she could not create floral arrangements for his wedding to a man based on her religious beliefs - that man and his partner later filed a discrimination lawsuit titled Arlene's Flowers v Ferguson, which they ultimately won in 2015. The video ends with a call to subscribe to Alliance Defending Freedom's YouTube and Twitter channels.
Another screenshot provided by a fan showed another advert by conservative commentator ASKDrBrown running against Ross' video regarding his five years post-female-to-male top surgery. ASKDrBrown's advert titled "CAN YOU BE GAY AND CHRISTIAN?" calls homosexuality "a sin", while citing instances from the Bible as alleged evidence.
Another tweet by bisexual YouTuber Gaby Dunn of Just Between Us quickly picked up speed on social media, in which she said she had been alerted to similar advertisements on her channel by her fans. She then asked her community if they had noted any other occurrences, which prompted a flood of comments.
One user responded with a screenshot, saying, "Same happened to me a few days ago with a [Just Between Us] video. In support of an anti lgbt lawsuit based on religious freedom. I couldn’t believe YouTube would allow the ad to run. Honestly super upsetting."
Another revealed that they had actually seen the ads running on two of Just Between Us videos two months prior, specifically videos titled "Gay Allison" and "Why I'm Not Polyamorous Anymore".
Forbes reached out to a representative for Gaby Dunn's channel for additional insight into the situation, however was told that they had no further comment at this time.
Other users also began to note additional creators' videos who they had seen anti-gay advertisements, which include Dodie, Anna Akana, the Philip DeFranco Show, vlogbrothers and others.
Currently, YouTubers who reach a certain threshold of subscribers and viewers are invited to join the streaming service's Partner Program. Under the terms of service, they are allowed to earn revenue on the condition that their content remain "advertiser-friendly" and adhering to the platform's community guidelines. In return, YouTube is allowed to sell pre-roll and mid-roll advertising to brands which run against their videos - however those adverts must adhere to the same guidelines as any other creator's regular video, due to the fact that they must be uploaded as organic content to the platform first.
Despite YouTube's policy that videos whose "primary purpose is to attack a protected group" is strictly against their community guidelines, it appears as though the Alliance Defending Freedom and ASKDrBrown advertisements fall into a grey area. In its Hate Speech policy, YouTube acknowledged the "fine line" that some content can fall into and also stated, "We encourage free speech and try to defend your right to express unpopular points of view, but we don't permit hate speech."
The set up is one that strikes a particularly sour chord with LGBTQ+ creators like Ross, who have struggled with YouTube's strict monetisation policies. In the wake of the revelation that advertising was running against predatory videos targeted at children and extremist content, YouTube strengthened its auto-flagging algorithm and cracked down on channels that were deemed non-advertiser-friendly.
However, the service overcorrected when it began demonetising content that discussed LGBTQ+ issues and mental health - something that Ross is still fighting today.
He said, "I posted my 5 years post-op top surgery videoyesterday and it was demonetized instantly the second I added the word Transgender in the title…My content on trans issues being restricted makes me feel so unwelcome on a platform that the LGBT+ community helped form."
Ross continued, "I’m terrified. I’ve known 3 trans creators who have had their entire channels deleted, without strikes, so when my channel received a strike, I was terrified, and I still am! The anti-LGBT ads is just another stab and it really hurts."
Veteran YouTuber Hank Green also released a video statement in which he condemned the anti-gay advertisements running against LGBTQ+ content as "despicable" and "poison in the well". He called for a "higher standard for advertisements than there is for content" - YouTube confirmed to Forbes that under the current advertising model, any ad must "meet the advertiser-friendly guidelines and the community guidelines".
Green also suggested that YouTube introduce the option for creators to turn off controversial advertisements on their own videos. YouTube confirmed that this feature already exists, instructions for which can be seen in the image below and online here.
A spokesperson for YouTube told Forbes, "We have policiesagainst ads on YouTube that incite hatred or promote discrimination, and all ads that run on the platform have to comply with these policies. Even when an ad does not violate our policies, we understand that creators may not want ads from certain advertisers appearing on their videos. That’s why we give creators the ability to block ads from an advertiser in their AdSense account. We also give creators the option to block certain categories of ads if they choose. In the meantime, we are looking at ways to improve our policies going forward."
However, some creators like Ross and Green feel that these ads are targeting LGBTQ+ content - and more specifically, their audiences.
Ross said, "I don’t like this at all. I feel that maybe these anti-LGBT companies are doing on purpose to place their ads on LGBT content to try and get people who are maybe questioning their gender identity or sexuality. These individuals are in a vulnerable place and these anti-LGBT organizations are taking advantage of them. This isn’t right and I don’t like that YouTube is [letting] this happen. Anti-LGBT ads shouldn’t be placed on our videos."
When asked for clarification, YouTube explained that it is currently impossible to target a specific demographic.
They stated, "You cannot target ads to a set of people or an audience based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. We have a strict personalised ads policy and you cannot target specific demographics as prohibited by that policy. We do allow targeting by content, so we do allow gardening for example as one of the keywords that you’re looking to target."
It isn't impossible that perhaps some of these advertisers set their keyword targeting to specific phrases like "LGBT", "trans", amongst other words relevant to the LGBTQ+ community. And if so, it's a loophole that needs to be addressed. While it can be explained away as simple keyword targeting, these are words tied intrinsically to the audience and a specific demographic - by targeting these keywords, you target the LGBTQ+ community.
Megan C. Hills is a freelance journalist and blogger based in London, writing about YouTube and women's lifestyle. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram and on her blog.
