“Like many others, we were upset by the video that was shared last week.”
YouTube has released an official statement in the wake of the Logan Paul controversy, noting that they are investigating with regards to “further consequences” for the disgraced YouTube personality.
Paul, 22, received a huge backlash after uploading a video on New Year’s Eve that he shot in Aokigahara; a noted “suicide forest” in Japan where an average of 105 people die each year.
Paul, who apologised for his actions, later cited an attempt to raise awareness regarding mental health and suicide.
He was subsequently criticised, with filmmaker and actor Anna Akana arguing: “That body was a person someone loved. You do not walk into a suicide forest with a camera and claim mental health awareness.”
One week on, YouTube has officially weighed in on the matter, taking to Twitter to pen an open letter to the YouTube community which immediately acknowledges the public’s frustration at the service’s “lack of communication”.
In its statement, YouTube notes its “upset” over the video, emphasising that “suicide is not a joke, nor should it ever be a driving force for views”.
The statement signs off with the promise to take steps “to ensure a video like this is never circulated again”.
You can read the full list of tweets below.
An open letter to our community:
Many of you have been frustrated with our lack of communication recently. You’re right to be. You deserve to know what's going on.
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
Like many others, we were upset by the video that was shared last week.
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
Suicide is not a joke, nor should it ever be a driving force for views. As Anna Akana put it perfectly: "That body was a person someone loved. You do not walk into a suicide forest with a camera and claim mental health awareness."
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
We expect more of the creators who build their community on @YouTube, as we’re sure you do too. The channel violated our community guidelines, we acted accordingly, and we are looking at further consequences.
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
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.
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
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