Todd M. Siebert: YouTube encourages ‘heroes’ to censor video giant into safe space

On the heels of its recent announcement that potentially offensive content won’t be eligible for monetization, the video sharing giant YouTube is now encouraging users to “mass flag” content that isn’t politically correct.

The “Heroes” initiative incentivizes YouTubers to report other users for making inappropriate comments and remarks in videos by offering a number of perks for people working as PC snitches for the company.

“YouTube Heroes will have access to a dedicated YouTube Heroes community site that is separate from the main YouTube site, where participants can learn from one another,” the company told Digital Trends. “Through the program, participants will be able to earn points and unlock rewards to help them reach the next level.”

The company announced the new program, an extension of a trusted flagger program it set up in 2012, in a new video.

Infowars reported: “The policy is so unpopular that [the video] has received over 415,000 ‘thumbs down’ compared with just over 7,000 ‘thumbs up’. The backlash was so vitriolic that YouTube has disabled the comments on the video.”

Many prominent YouTubers are speaking out against the company’s latest censorship efforts.