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YouTube is enacting a series of sanctions against Logan Paul, the popular vlogger who was forced to apologize after he uploaded a video on 31 December showing the body of an apparent suicide victim in Japan.
Logan Paul is ‘taking time to reflect’ after a video posted from Japan draw widespread backlash for depicting an apparent suicide victim.
Paul’s personal channel, which boasts more than 15.6 million subscribers, will be removed from YouTube’s premium advertisement lineup, Google Preferred, a YouTube spokesperson confirmed. Google Preferred packages YouTube’s most popular channels for blue chip advertisers.
A Google spokesperson confirmed that Paul would still be eligible to earn money from his videos through YouTube’s general monetization program.
Though Paul is best known for his sophomoric vlogs, he has also been featured in scripted programming funded by YouTube and distributed on YouTubeRed, the company’s subscription service.
YouTube also said Wednesday that Paul would not be featured in the fourth season of the YouTubeRed show, Foursome, and that his other YouTubeRed projects had been placed “on hold”.
Paul did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The 22-year-old has not posted any new videos since 2 January, when he uploaded an apology. On 3 January, he tweeted that he was “taking time to reflect”.
The controversy over Paul’s video, in which he and a group friends visit Japan’s Aokigahara forest, a well-known suicide spot, and happen upon a dead body, came amid increased pressure on YouTube to more effectively police its site. In recent months, the company has faced criticism over inappropriate content on its children’s app, as well as its promotion of false conspiracy theory videos.
In an “open letter” posted on Twitter on Tuesday, the company apologized for its failure to respond to the controversy earlier, writing: “It’s taken us a long time to respond, but we’ve been listening to everything you’ve been saying. We know that the actions of one creator can affect the entire community, so we’ll have more to share soon on steps we’re taking to ensure a video like this is never circulated again.”
(THE GUARDIAN)
