YouTube Influencer Demonetization for Accountability
In past years, James Charles and David Dobrik were on the top of the chain in the world of YouTube. James Charles, a beauty influencer and David Dobrik, a YouTube vlogger found themselves in some predicament regarding sexual misconduct. The fans of beauty influencer James Charles and YouTuber vlogger David Dobrik had mixed reactions after they discovered that both social media influencers had been penalized following accusations of sexual misconduct.
YouTube announced that James Charles will not be hosting his second season of ‘Instant Influencer’ a reality competition show. A rep for the platform also confirmed to the same outlet that YouTube has decided to demonetize David Dobrik. The news of Charles being removed from the show comes shortly after he was accused of grooming a 16-year-old. This is an allegation that he has completely denied. Charles spoke out against the allegations and claimed he had been unaware of the boy’s age at the time of the interaction. Charles continued to post on all of his platforms as though nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, Dobrik has been under fire for shooting and posting a video of a woman entering a bedroom after she was too drunk to consent. He has since removed the video. Because of this, advertisers and sponsors of Dobrik quickly have been pulling out of their support for Dobrik’s vlogs. They do not want to be wrapped up in the scandal. David Dobrik did put out a video claiming he did not realize the severity of the situation and is taking measures that a situation like this never happens again and that the person involved should take accountability for his own actions.
YouTube right away demonetized both influencers channels. It is important for platforms such as YouTube to take a stance for the better. These allegations are not light and have been detrimental to the victims lives. As for the influencers, James Charles recently put out a video defending his name and owning up to his own faults. He claims that he is going to hold himself accountable and apologize to anyone that has been hurt in this situation. He goes on by saying that these conversations (to the victims) should have never happened and he takes full responsibility for that. David Dobrik also came out with a video telling his audience how sorry he is for putting anyone in a situation where they feel like they do not feel comfortable and safe. He also states that he should have been there to make sure that everyone was safe and feel like they do not need to be silent about these issues. He wants to make sure that people can communicate discomfort or be able to speak up. Dobrik closes his video by apologizing and taking full responsibility.
In my opinion, I think that James Charles and David Dobrik did the right thing by owning up to their actions. However, I don’t think that posting a video apologizing is enough. These allegations truly hurt people, and there is nothing that can take that back. Both of these influencers aren’t posting on social media, but with that social media break there has to be something more done to fix what they have done.
I think the biggest takeaway here is that social media can really impact people’s lives. The power these influencers have on so many lives really makes you think. To other influencers, it is important to look at these situations and think about what you could do better as an influencer. Are you making the right choices to get where you want to go? Doing the right thing is so important today, and with that lessons can be learned.
