2017 brought a lot of controversial topics to light on YouTube, be it in regards to ads, algorithms, bizarre children’s content, as well as other issues, and it already seems as though 2018 is going to be far more extreme.
On December 31st, just hours before the new year, Logan Paul uploaded a video to his vlog channel in which he and his friends ventured in Japan’s Aokigahara forest. While not the most popular tourist destination, as it’s often overshadowed by the nearby Mt. Fuji, the forest is mostly known internationally as the “Suicide Forrest” and has been the subject of two recent films, The Forrest (2016) and The Sea Of Trees (2015). While there, Paul discovered a dead body, calls the police and states that before finding the body they had planned to joke about finding things in the forest. Following this, he talks as seriously as he can about suicide and tells people that it’s not a joke. Once the video was uploaded, Paul began taking flack from a wide range of people, including fellow YouTubers Casey Neistat and Pewdiepie as well as actor Aaron Paul.
Over the past 48 hours, Logan Paul has issued two apologies, one written in notepad and posted as two screenshots to Twitter and a second in video form which he posted to both YouTube and Twitter.
In his first apology, Logan focuses almost entirely on himself and in some places even comes across as if he’s humble-bragging about his success and his reach. It often reads as if he’s upset that things have blown up in his face rather than recognizing that he’s done something wrong. However, his second apology seems more legitimate and, well, like an actual apology compared to the first. He even tells his fans no to defend him and states that he’s ashamed of his actions. Even with the apparent sincerity of his most recent apology, it’s hard to take Logan’s word for what it’s worth. He’s removed the controversial video, but one can still easily find it on other sites. Something like this cannot be easily undone in the modern age, after all.
One must also question the thought process behind the video, which is edited like many of his other vlogs while also blurring out the face of the victim. Although Logan Paul may not have edited the video himself, he would still have had to approve it. No one around him seems to think it would be a bad idea to post this video, and apparently neither did the editor. It’s almost like Logan Paul has become so absorbed by his own brand that he, and those around him, cannot see anything they do as wrong as long as it’s entertaining.
The other, lesser discussed, issue here is on YouTube’s part. Logan himself is the one who pulled the video down, not YouTube despite the video being a likely violation of terms of services. The video was presumably monetized, allowing Logan to profit from someone’s death. YouTube has issued a statement saying that violent or gory content is not allowed unless in a documentary sense and after watching even a few seconds of Logan Paul’s video it’s clear that he’s using this body for a sensational purpose, which is strictly against the rules. YouTube tries time and again to push out damage control when something controversial happens, and every time it would seem as though, when one reads between the lines of their statements, that they are firmly in support of larger channels and corporations over smaller channels and this time is no different. Had this occurred with a lesser know content creator, or had something similar been posted on Twitter for instance, not only would the video be removed but the uploader would likely be banned. No such repercussions face the money machine that is Logan Paul.
Moving into a new year, it’s relatively clear that YouTube is still just as backward regarding policy as it’s been for the past few months. Likewise, Logan Paul’s action are a horrifying look at what fame can do to someone, how else could someone in their right mind approve uploading and monetizing a video where the focus is discovering an actual dead body?
Likewise, it’s scary to see his fans defend his actions, despite his recent request for them not to, as this implies that they, in some way, enjoyed the morbid footage. One can only hope that 2018 does not continue down this dark path and that people are more mindful of what they’re using to promote themselves.
