I'm Being Censored | YouTube's War Against Vegans

Hi it's Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome
to a special vegan nugget. This isn’t a

typical video of mine, but it’s very important.
I wanted to share with you a challenge of

unjust censorship I’m facing and ask for
your help to have the truth heard. It’s

a very simple action you can take, but amplified
by each of you, it has great power.

First let me tell you what happened and speak
to the disturbing undercurrent of social media

discrimination and censorship of the vegan
message.

The mission of Bite Size Vegan and the whole
reason I started this channel was to provide

free access to approachable but research-backed
vegan education. And while I strive to make

my videos entertaining and engaging, my core
purpose remains to speak the truth no matter

the cost. This is almost always an uphill
battle, especially recently.

I had the incredible honor of seeing the video
of my speech The Extremism of Veganism: Exposing

The Greatest Lie take off and connect with
people in a way no educational video of mine

has before, and certainly not one that was
over 30 minutes.

In the days after the initial post, people
were organically finding the video, spurring

a resurgence of views, sharing, engagement
and momentum, which for a 30-minute educational

speech on my channel is unheard of, yet what
I always hope for. It was on its way to 100,000,

and from the comments, it seems that people
were actually connecting with the content

in a powerful manner.

Then I received an email from YouTube saying
the video had been flagged as inappropriate.

They reviewed it and placed it under age restriction.
It will no longer appear as a suggested video

and users have to be logged in and age verified
to even find it.

There is graphic footage within my speech—however,
according to YouTube’s own policy stated

within the very notification they sent me,
my presentation of this footage falls within

the parameters of “exceptions for appropriate
educational, documentary, artistic, and scientific

contexts where the purpose of posting is clear.”

They ask that “uploaders post as much information
as possible in the title and description of

their video to help [them] and viewers understand
the primary purpose of the video.”

As always, I provide an almost excessive amount
of information and framing in my description,

as well as an entire blog post with extensive
scientific citations and a full bibliography.

I give viewers ample warning within the video
to turn away or skip over the graphic footage,

and even provide navigational time stamps
in the description.

In addition, YouTube states that they don’t
allow content that’s “intended to incite

violence or encourage dangerous activities.”
And yet videos, entire channels and social

media posts of people killing and skinning
living beings for pleasure, or posing in the

skin of others beings who were anally and
genitally electrocuted and skinned alive,

or roasting dead carcasses with unmitigated
glee, are totally acceptable.

While my speech and other activists are speaking
out against such violence, in an educational

manner, as YouTube states is an exception,
these accounts and individuals are actively

promoting violence, against YouTube’s own
stated standards, of “shocking, sensational,

and disrespectful presentation,” void of
any clear educational framing. Yet it’s

the promoters of violence YouTube protects,
while they censor, restrict or shut down entirely

those of us pointing to the truth behind these
socially-accepted atrocities.

Of course, the ultimate manifestation of this
absurd and illogical bias would be if this

video you ’re currently watching were to
be flagged and age restricted for showing

this very footage from other channels that
not only remains unrestricted but is also

deemed advertiser-friendly.

Take this gustatorial perversity for example.
I’d hazard a guess that were I to present

this very footage on my channel within a vegan
framework, I’d have yet another age restriction

and advertiser pull-out on my hands.

You see, I often receive notices from YouTube
saying that my videos, which show the reality

of what we do to animals, are not appropriate
for advertisers and all ads have been pulled.

This is not due to copyright but simply because
advertisers won’t go near them.

Society wants the end product without having
to acknowledge the process. It's "inappropriate"

to make people think about the lives they
have paid to ruin. We can’t have a pre-roll

add for pizza be followed by the truth about
the rape, kidnapping, torture, abuse, confinement

and murder that went into every slice, now
can we?

As vegan animal activists, our most vital
tool is our voice. We are more or less powerless

to directly halt the mass slaughter of trillions
of innocent beings every year. Our power lies

in speaking out. In educating. In presenting
the truth.

In a global culture of misinformation and
childhood indoctrination, dominated by false

assurances of humane slaughter and the happy
animals on our plates, by the baffling concept

that it’s acceptable to love animals and
eat them, by the perverse sense of human entitlement

and dominion over those we deem lesser-than,
by the deeply corrupt allegiances between

the animal product industries, governmental
regulatory bodies, and educational institutions

producing shaky-science-backed lies about
our dire need for the very foods that are

killing us, every single voice of truth is
needed more than ever.

And I am by no means the first nor will I
be the last activist threatened with unfair

and unfounded roadblocks to speaking the truth.

Outspoken individuals in every movement have
always fought censorship. The animal rights

and vegan message are particularly dangerous
as they threaten the very foundation of the

lie the majority of the world relies upon
remaining in tact.

The animals need every voice. The lies we
are up against are incredibly powerful, pervasive,

and persistent. And the consequences for speaking
the truth can be dire. I am aware that in

the Unites States even what I do could be
considered terrorism under the AETA. But I

know who the real terrorists are. And I'll
continue to speak for their victims.

In the weeks since my video was flagged, it’s
barely accumulated a couple thousand views.

But this isn’t about the views—it’s
about stifling the message and the bias of

YouTube and other social media platforms revealed
by the inconsistencies in the enforcement

of their policies.

So what can you do to help? The day after
tomorrow, I’m going to be re-posting the

speech. And I’ll be spending the entirety
of tomorrow at a 24-hour vigil with Toronto

Pig Save, looking into the eyes of innocent
animals on the way to their deaths, unable

to prevent their senseless murders.

The new speech post will have the graphic
footage removed with a link to the original

video and explanation. What I need from you
is to please watch the new posting and share

it far and wide. I realize many of you may
have already seen the speech. So you can even

just let it run in the background.

We may never recapture the momentum of the
original post, but all I can do is try. From

the responses I’ve received, this speech
is effective. Let’s not let it die. Let’s

scream at the top of our lungs, refuse to
be silenced.

Thank you for your support. Never stop fighting.
Never give up.

Please join me in re-launching the speech
and revealing the truth on June 15th, 2016

or any day thereafter. It may seem a simple
step to take, but the implications of these

seemingly small injustices are monumental.
Take action. Call out hypocrisy. Go vegan.

And fight.