Turns out, YouTube’s gotten political too. After one star on the video sharing platform endorsed Hillary Clinton and encouraged his viewers to pressure others to endorse her too, a controversy over the propriety of such behavior ensued.
On October 11, YouTuber Casey Neistat released a video to his over 5 million followers declaring that he would be casting his vote for Hillary Clinton. But beyond that, Neistat urged: “I want to end this by calling out all the big YouTubers…there is something much more valuable than subscribers or dollars. And that’s backbone: that is, not being scared to stand up for what is right regardless of the cost. So, if your favorite YouTuber says things like ‘I don’t like to talk politics on my channel’ or ‘I’m not going to reveal who I’m voting for,’ call them out.”
But Neistat’s plea was not bipartisan. At the end of the segment, text read: “This video was NOT sponsored by Hillary Clinton … But you need to vote for her and make sure everyone else you know votes for her or the consequences of electing the unstable irrational alternative will be far reaching and severe.”
The very next day, YouTuber Philip DeFranco published a video response. The commentator, whose following approaches five million people, expressed frustration at the “mob” Neistat had “unleashed” against fellow users of the platform.
DeFranco labeled Neistat’s exhortation “aggressive” and reprimanded him for “getting on a high horse.” People should be given information, not a prescripted decision, he argued. “I don’t really understand the voter that can be swayed by a celebrity saying ‘I’m voting for this person, so so should you,’” DeFranco further opined.
But the real issue centered on the fact that Niestat’s followers took his urging as a license to harass YouTubers who had not endorsed Clinton. “People are just spamming this video, and going ‘Where’s your backbone, [YouTuber]? Why are you not coming out against Donald Trump? Are you racist, [random YouTuber]?” DeFranco vented. “Oh, you didn’t come out and support Hillary Clinton, you must hate women!”
Although he himself has not suffered extensively from such remarks, DeFranco is aware of others who have. He credits the intelligence of his audience for knowing that his videos will not “push” a “biased agenda.”
DeFranco concluded his spiel with a reminder about registering to vote. “And after you’re registered if you haven’t done it already, look at both sides,” he urged. “Look at what they say they’re about and then look at the facts. If after that, you want Hillary Clinton in office, vote for Hillary Clinton. If you want Donald Trump, vote Donald Trump. … Educate yourself and then vote what you want.”
Well, that was refreshing!
