YouTube is video gay sex japanno stranger to backlash from its creator community. But one thing it has never been criticized for: Failing to be inclusive.
After all, this is the platform home to over 51.1 million "coming out" videos and a Sundance Film Festival movie about transgender YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous.
Those positive vibes toward the platform may have unraveled in just one weekend. On Friday, many members of YouTube's LGBTQ community turned on the platform after several popular creators pointed out how its "restricted mode" hides some of their videos.
SEE ALSO: YouTube apologizes for hidden LGBTQ videosThe video giant offered somewhat of an apology on Monday ... "for the confusion." But some creators and their fans -- Team Internet, they call themselves -- are questioning whether the response fits the offense in this case.
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The consensus: Nothing short of a policy change and a true apology will fix this.
"There is definitely a cognitive dissonance at play," YouTube star Tyler Oakley said in an email response. "The execution of this policy goes against their long history of LGBTQ+ advocacy work."
YouTube: Sorry, kind of?
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According to YouTube guidelines, Restricted Modeis an optional feature on YouTube that is off by default. A person familiar with the setting said only a "small subset of users" enable it as a way to have "a more limited experience."
When Restricted Mode is turned on, users can still see videos that explore and cover a variety of LGBTQ topics. There is no account penalty applied to content that is not available in Restricted Mode, and restricted videos can still be monetized.
YouTube has been careful about how it presents its content in the past, responding to parental requests. After it first rolled out its YouTube Kids app, the ads ignited backlash from a handful of of children's advocacy groups who filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission in April asking it to investigate whether the app exposes young users to unwanted commercials.
Since then, the platform ramped up its efforts to make its app more family friendly. Still, many creators feel restricted mode is YouTube's way of equating LGBTQ content as "not family friendly."
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Big digital influencers ranging from Oakely to unofficial YouTube voice of reason Hank Green, as well as musicians such as Tegan and Sara (whose videos were also affected), spoke up about the policy.
The hashtag #YouTubeIsOverParty -- which first surfaced when creators were complaining about "advertiser-friendly guidelines" -- trended over the weekend.
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When asked for comment, a YouTube spokesperson said: “Restricted Modeis an optional feature used by a very small subset of users who want to have a more limited YouTube experience. Videos that contain LGBT topics are available in Restricted Mode, however, some videos that cover subjects like health, politics and sexuality may not appear for users and institutions that choose to use this feature."
The video giant didn't elaborate further on the "more to come" tweet from Monday.
#ProudtoBe?
YouTube has long been an advocate of the LGBTQ community.
The platform's very existence has served a great purpose for many LGBTQ people -- especially younger generations -- who have turned to the internet to find themselves.
VidCon -- the annual event in June in Anaheim for internet stars and their fans -- had a more somber tone after the June mass shooting at Orlando nightclub Pulse and the death of YouTube musician Christina Grimmie, who was shot and killed at a fan event in Florida.
Thousands sported "Love is love" wristbands, sold at VidCon to fundraise for Pulse victims.
On the final day of the event, VidCon organizers sent out an alert on the event's app announcing that in three days they had raised $5,000 thanks to wristband purchases.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable That same month, YouTube announced its "#ProudToBe" initiative, created to celebrate people throughout the LGBTQ community and around the globe, and the platform disabled comments to avoid spreading hate.
“Over the last year at YouTube, we’ve given a lot of thought about what we stand for, and we’ve identified a number of 'Freedoms' that we believe in and want to promote at YouTube," YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said at Vidcon."This includes the Freedom of Expression: that YouTube gives everyone a voice. The Freedom of Information: that YouTube provides information to everyone around the globe. The Freedom of Opportunity: that anyone on YouTube can build a media business and the Freedom to Belong: that everyone can find connection and community.”
She weighed in on the restricted-mode policy Monday, reassuring community members that she's "pushing" to "investigate."
I wanted to reemphasize this message to our community. The LGBT community means a lot to YouTube and I'm pushing our teams to investigate. https://t.co/ywyc2sLiHV
— Susan Wojcicki (@SusanWojcicki) March 20, 2017
'Make YouTube Gay Again'
Sometimes the first cut is the deepest.
While YouTube has had a strong relationship with LGBTQ users, fixing its error is going to take a lot more than a social media post. In creating the policy in the first place, the platform has essentially gone against its fundamental democratic motto: "Broadcast Yourself."
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"I felt their response was a bit disingenuous," Oakley said. "When you mess up, it's simple: don't make excuses, own your mistakes, vow to do better, and immediately do whatever you can to fix the damage you've done. I have yet to see any of that, so to me, nothing has been fixed."
Others like Hannah Hart questioned what YouTube does define as "sensitive issues."
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Some pointed out the hypocrisy in filtering LGBTQ videos but not anti-LGBTQ videos.
Gigi Gorgeous -- whose face has been plastered across billboards promoting her new YouTube Red film -- also spoke out about the policy on Monday in a video titled "#ProudToBeRestricted."
In her video, she said when she turned on restricted mode only her beauty and lifestyle videos show up, "nothing personal -- none of my videos talking about my gender or sexual orientation."
"Nobody really knows when it started which is really scary," she added. "At the end of the day it kind of makes us -- the LGBTQ community -- look bad. I know that's not what they are trying to do."
"Now you can just turn on one button and the entire LGBTQ community can be taken away from you."
She said it's scary because "YouTube has always been a place where you can find someone just like you and now given that you can just turn on one button and the entire LGBTQ community can be taken away from you is really really really sad."
Some people on Twitter offered a simple solution: "Make YouTube Gay Again."
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