YouTube Rebates for Red Dead Redemption 2 feminist

Over the last few days, controversy Red Dead Redemption 2 player gleefully feeds an in-game feminist to an alligator. After the press reported that the clip had been viewed by a million times by commentators who cheered the action, the uploader got her finished channel from YouTube. Hours later, YouTube reverses its decision and concedes that its content reviewers sometimes make "mistakes."

The YouTube video in question first wins mainstream attention via Motherboard, a publication which linked to a YouTuber named Shirrako who had uploaded two contentious clips. The first one, which has been viewed 1.6 million times, features Shirrako punching out a suffragette NPC who yells in a plaza about wanting the right to vote. Red Dead Redemption 2, a Western that takes place in 1899, allows players to talk to each character, allowing both friendly and aggressive options, depending on the player's mood. While the game does not outright encourages any specific kind of behavior, it does come with a morality system that penalizes the player for breaking the law. In the first game, however, there is an achievement for hog-tying a woman and watching her get run over by a train.

The first clip, which occurred during a live stream, was happened, according to Shirrako – in a quote to Motherboard, the streamer explained that "the NPC is made to be rather annoying, when you're in the game, your dialogue with the shopkeeper is shouting, so I just wanted to shop in peace." Shirrako added that the clip was a joke, not political, and while they did not agree that the YouTuber did not like censoring people's opinions, or if I like them or not.

That video was nonetheless followed by another clip where Shirrako lassos the feminist and drags her to an alligator, which then eats her. It has been viewed over 800,000 times by cheering fans.

It should be noted that Shirrako's channel is full of such videos, seemingly showing no favoritism for any sort of person in the game. YouTuber also uploaded KKK member (18,000 views), followed by KKK (18,000 views), followed by KKK member in the game. Days ago, the channel also uploaded clips of Shirrako beating up a politician, a character based on Hitler, an entire town, and another where YouTuber tries and fails to kill children. However, these videos did not get the same mainstream attention.

Two days after the feminist video hubbub, Shirrako's channel was terminated to violations of the YouTube Community Guidelines, and an email shared with Motherboard noted that the video service does not allow for a "shocking, sensational, or disrespectful manner" and that it does not "allow content that is intended to incite violence or encourage dangerous activities."

This news set off waves on YouTube, with commentators noting that it was a dangerous precedent in the game, especially given that it is prevalent among many popular games.

Beyond commentary videos, other YouTubers re-uploaded the clip in solidarity with Shirrako, while others petitioned YouTube executives to take another look at the case. On further review, YouTube reinstated Shirrako's channel, leaving all the videos intact, but applying an age restriction to the footage.

"YouTube's Community Guidelines Prohibit Among Other Things, Free Violence, Nudity, Dangerous and Illegal Activities, and Hate Speech," YouTube spokesperson told The Verge. "Creative formats such as video games can be challenged when we are happy to take action, we take action as necessary."

YouTube also notes that any flagged video is reviewed internally, and that the service removes anything that it considers rule-breaking. When asked by a journalist what was being done internally to make sure this did not happen again, YouTube's head of gaming Ryan Wyatt tweeted, "Sometimes we make mistakes, which is why we have multiple escalation paths for reviewers to raise tough decisions and we give creators the right to appeal. The reviewer will be educated on this outcome and on how to avoid repeating this mistake. "

It is unclear how, exactly, YouTube decided to terminate the channel, and what the appeal process was for this entire debacle was. For example, did you only make a mistake? If so, what are the smaller channels to have a platform to make, but they do not have a big enough microphone to broadcast it? The YouTube spokesperson did not offer these answers The Verge, goal Wyatt notes on social media that he often takes a look at things people tell him about on Twitter, and encourages people to talk about the team.

Since the channel's reinstatement, Shirrako has uploaded clips with titles such as "Deporting A Mexican," "Hitler Gets Punched Off A Cliff," and "Beating Up Chinese Man."