WEBVTT 00:00:00.260 --> 00:00:05.130 Hi it's Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome to a special vegan nugget. This isn’t a 00:00:05.130 --> 00:00:09.830 typical video of mine, but it’s very important. I wanted to share with you a challenge of 00:00:09.830 --> 00:00:14.480 unjust censorship I’m facing and ask for your help to have the truth heard. It’s 00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:19.520 a very simple action you can take, but amplified by each of you, it has great power. 00:00:20.180 --> 00:00:24.699 First let me tell you what happened and speak to the disturbing undercurrent of social media 00:00:24.699 --> 00:00:27.699 discrimination and censorship of the vegan message. 00:00:28.660 --> 00:00:32.559 The mission of Bite Size Vegan and the whole reason I started this channel was to provide 00:00:32.559 --> 00:00:37.530 free access to approachable but research-backed vegan education. And while I strive to make 00:00:37.530 --> 00:00:42.490 my videos entertaining and engaging, my core purpose remains to speak the truth no matter 00:00:42.490 --> 00:00:46.820 the cost. This is almost always an uphill battle, especially recently. 00:00:47.360 --> 00:00:52.600 I had the incredible honor of seeing the video of my speech The Extremism of Veganism: Exposing 00:00:52.609 --> 00:00:57.729 The Greatest Lie take off and connect with people in a way no educational video of mine 00:00:57.729 --> 00:01:01.539 has before, and certainly not one that was over 30 minutes. 00:01:01.940 --> 00:01:06.860 In the days after the initial post, people were organically finding the video, spurring 00:01:06.870 --> 00:01:12.690 a resurgence of views, sharing, engagement and momentum, which for a 30-minute educational 00:01:12.690 --> 00:01:19.670 speech on my channel is unheard of, yet what I always hope for. It was on its way to 100,000, 00:01:19.670 --> 00:01:23.840 and from the comments, it seems that people were actually connecting with the content 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:25.170 in a powerful manner. 00:01:25.170 --> 00:01:29.880 Then I received an email from YouTube saying the video had been flagged as inappropriate. 00:01:29.880 --> 00:01:35.600 They reviewed it and placed it under age restriction. It will no longer appear as a suggested video 00:01:35.600 --> 00:01:40.730 and users have to be logged in and age verified to even find it. 00:01:40.730 --> 00:01:47.130 There is graphic footage within my speech—however, according to YouTube’s own policy stated 00:01:47.130 --> 00:01:52.220 within the very notification they sent me, my presentation of this footage falls within 00:01:52.220 --> 00:01:58.060 the parameters of “exceptions for appropriate educational, documentary, artistic, and scientific 00:01:58.060 --> 00:02:01.720 contexts where the purpose of posting is clear.” 00:02:01.720 --> 00:02:06.890 They ask that “uploaders post as much information as possible in the title and description of 00:02:06.890 --> 00:02:11.150 their video to help [them] and viewers understand the primary purpose of the video.” 00:02:11.150 --> 00:02:17.530 As always, I provide an almost excessive amount of information and framing in my description, 00:02:17.530 --> 00:02:22.870 as well as an entire blog post with extensive scientific citations and a full bibliography. 00:02:22.870 --> 00:02:28.889 I give viewers ample warning within the video to turn away or skip over the graphic footage, 00:02:28.889 --> 00:02:31.969 and even provide navigational time stamps in the description. 00:02:31.969 --> 00:02:36.859 In addition, YouTube states that they don’t allow content that’s “intended to incite 00:02:36.859 --> 00:02:42.609 violence or encourage dangerous activities.” And yet videos, entire channels and social 00:02:42.609 --> 00:02:47.790 media posts of people killing and skinning living beings for pleasure, or posing in the 00:02:47.790 --> 00:02:52.819 skin of others beings who were anally and genitally electrocuted and skinned alive, 00:02:52.819 --> 00:02:57.730 or roasting dead carcasses with unmitigated glee, are totally acceptable. 00:02:57.730 --> 00:03:03.560 While my speech and other activists are speaking out against such violence, in an educational 00:03:03.560 --> 00:03:08.579 manner, as YouTube states is an exception, these accounts and individuals are actively 00:03:08.579 --> 00:03:14.469 promoting violence, against YouTube’s own stated standards, of “shocking, sensational, 00:03:14.469 --> 00:03:19.599 and disrespectful presentation,” void of any clear educational framing. Yet it’s 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:25.309 the promoters of violence YouTube protects, while they censor, restrict or shut down entirely 00:03:25.309 --> 00:03:29.870 those of us pointing to the truth behind these socially-accepted atrocities. 00:03:29.870 --> 00:03:36.969 Of course, the ultimate manifestation of this absurd and illogical bias would be if this 00:03:36.969 --> 00:03:40.900 video you ’re currently watching were to be flagged and age restricted for showing 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:46.620 this very footage from other channels that not only remains unrestricted but is also 00:03:46.620 --> 00:03:49.340 deemed advertiser-friendly. 00:03:49.340 --> 00:03:55.249 Take this gustatorial perversity for example. I’d hazard a guess that were I to present 00:03:55.249 --> 00:04:00.959 this very footage on my channel within a vegan framework, I’d have yet another age restriction 00:04:00.959 --> 00:04:03.219 and advertiser pull-out on my hands. 00:04:03.219 --> 00:04:08.329 You see, I often receive notices from YouTube saying that my videos, which show the reality 00:04:08.329 --> 00:04:14.529 of what we do to animals, are not appropriate for advertisers and all ads have been pulled. 00:04:14.529 --> 00:04:19.390 This is not due to copyright but simply because advertisers won’t go near them. 00:04:19.390 --> 00:04:25.600 Society wants the end product without having to acknowledge the process. It's "inappropriate" 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:29.980 to make people think about the lives they have paid to ruin. We can’t have a pre-roll 00:04:29.980 --> 00:04:34.950 add for pizza be followed by the truth about the rape, kidnapping, torture, abuse, confinement 00:04:34.950 --> 00:04:39.870 and murder that went into every slice, now can we? 00:04:39.870 --> 00:04:45.250 As vegan animal activists, our most vital tool is our voice. We are more or less powerless 00:04:45.250 --> 00:04:51.120 to directly halt the mass slaughter of trillions of innocent beings every year. Our power lies 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:54.840 in speaking out. In educating. In presenting the truth. 00:04:54.840 --> 00:05:00.310 In a global culture of misinformation and childhood indoctrination, dominated by false 00:05:00.310 --> 00:05:06.320 assurances of humane slaughter and the happy animals on our plates, by the baffling concept 00:05:06.320 --> 00:05:12.230 that it’s acceptable to love animals and eat them, by the perverse sense of human entitlement 00:05:12.230 --> 00:05:18.580 and dominion over those we deem lesser-than, by the deeply corrupt allegiances between 00:05:18.580 --> 00:05:23.480 the animal product industries, governmental regulatory bodies, and educational institutions 00:05:23.480 --> 00:05:29.530 producing shaky-science-backed lies about our dire need for the very foods that are 00:05:29.530 --> 00:05:34.910 killing us, every single voice of truth is needed more than ever. 00:05:34.910 --> 00:05:39.900 And I am by no means the first nor will I be the last activist threatened with unfair 00:05:39.900 --> 00:05:42.920 and unfounded roadblocks to speaking the truth. 00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:47.850 Outspoken individuals in every movement have always fought censorship. The animal rights 00:05:47.850 --> 00:05:52.600 and vegan message are particularly dangerous as they threaten the very foundation of the 00:05:52.600 --> 00:05:56.880 lie the majority of the world relies upon remaining in tact. 00:05:56.880 --> 00:06:02.050 The animals need every voice. The lies we are up against are incredibly powerful, pervasive, 00:06:02.050 --> 00:06:07.700 and persistent. And the consequences for speaking the truth can be dire. I am aware that in 00:06:07.700 --> 00:06:13.270 the Unites States even what I do could be considered terrorism under the AETA. But I 00:06:13.270 --> 00:06:17.590 know who the real terrorists are. And I'll continue to speak for their victims. 00:06:17.590 --> 00:06:17.760 In the weeks since my video was flagged, it’s barely accumulated a couple thousand views. 00:06:17.760 --> 00:06:18.320 But this isn’t about the views—it’s about stifling the message and the bias of 00:06:18.320 --> 00:06:20.030 YouTube and other social media platforms revealed by the inconsistencies in the enforcement 00:06:20.030 --> 00:06:20.430 of their policies. 00:06:20.430 --> 00:06:24.250 So what can you do to help? The day after tomorrow, I’m going to be re-posting the 00:06:24.250 --> 00:06:29.070 speech. And I’ll be spending the entirety of tomorrow at a 24-hour vigil with Toronto 00:06:29.070 --> 00:06:34.460 Pig Save, looking into the eyes of innocent animals on the way to their deaths, unable 00:06:34.460 --> 00:06:36.780 to prevent their senseless murders. 00:06:36.780 --> 00:06:41.100 The new speech post will have the graphic footage removed with a link to the original 00:06:41.100 --> 00:06:46.840 video and explanation. What I need from you is to please watch the new posting and share 00:06:46.840 --> 00:06:51.140 it far and wide. I realize many of you may have already seen the speech. So you can even 00:06:51.140 --> 00:06:53.130 just let it run in the background. 00:06:53.130 --> 00:06:58.410 We may never recapture the momentum of the original post, but all I can do is try. From 00:06:58.410 --> 00:07:04.680 the responses I’ve received, this speech is effective. Let’s not let it die. Let’s 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:08.560 scream at the top of our lungs, refuse to be silenced. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:15.470 Thank you for your support. Never stop fighting. Never give up. 00:07:15.470 --> 00:07:20.990 Please join me in re-launching the speech and revealing the truth on June 15th, 2016 00:07:20.990 --> 00:07:26.220 or any day thereafter. It may seem a simple step to take, but the implications of these 00:07:26.220 --> 00:07:34.070 seemingly small injustices are monumental. Take action. Call out hypocrisy. Go vegan. 00:07:34.070 --> 00:07:35.560 And fight.