We need to do something about the Warnings on the Crimes against Humanities Videos

I have submitted my opinion to YouTube via their feedback feature. If anyone know a better way to bother YouTube let me know. I know the Time Ghost team are in contact with YouTube about this, but I think a barrage of well written complaints might encourage YouTube to do something. I will include the text of my message for anyone to use as a template.

My text:

I have been watching the World War Two YouTube Channel Since it got started and I have followed other Time Ghost projects in the past. They have possibly the best coverage of history on YouTube. It is accurate and informative while also being digestible by a general audience. I have noticed recently that the videos in their “War Against Humanity” series have been identified as “inappropriate or offensive to some audiences.” I understand that discussions of war crimes can be graphic and uncomfortable to many people, but having watched this series myself and similar series by that same creators, I have to say that their discussions of these heinous crimes and events is important and valuable. I am sure we can agree that teaching people about crimes against humanity during World War Two should not be censored. I imagine that YouTube is not trying to censor this and that YouTube is attempting to warn children and parents of graphic material. The waring before the video does not make this clear, however. If I was not already familiar with this channels content I would think the warning was referring to inappropriate or offensive language or erroneous and inflammatory claims. This warning is what I would expect to appear before a holocaust denial video. The content of these “War Against Humanity” videos is the farthest thing from denialism. I do not believe YouTube is against videos that discuss crimes against humanity, as many other videos discussing the Holocaust and other atrocities are not preceded by a similar warning. This video by Crash Course, The Holocaust,Genocides, and Mass Murder of WWII: Crash Course European History #40 - YouTube, does not have any such warning and even plays ads before the video. This video by FDRLibrary, Investigating the Holocaust Part 10: Nazi Evil in Action - YouTube, makes extensive use of graphic images from the Holocaust, yet it too does not have a warning. I must conclude that YouTube is not attempting to discourage people from learning about crime against humanity, but rather something or someone has flagged the “War Against Humanity” series on the World War Two channel in particular. I suspect that these videos have been false flagged by unscrupulous users that would like to deny the existence of these war crimes, in an attempt to censor discussion of the Holocaust and other crimes committed during World War Two. I would hate for YouTube to inadvertently side with Holocaust deniers. If YouTube is truly concerned that parents might be upset about their children stumbling upon graphic images, then YouTube should make that clear in the warning. The warning could read “This video contain material that might not be suitable for children without a parent present” rather than suggesting that the video as a whole is inappropriate of offensive. The “War Against Humanity” series on the World War Two YouTube channel is only inappropriate or offensive to those who actively deny or justify the heinous acts that are condemned in the videos. The World War Two channel provides their own content warnings on their “War Against Humanity” videos and keeps a close eye on the comments under the videos. It is a shame that new viewers are discouraged from watching their content because of the misleading warning. It is also more difficult to find new “War Against Humanity” videos because they do not appear in my feed even though I am subscribed to the channel. This is only a problem for the video that has been flagged. At the moment it appears as if YouTube is suppressing information about the Holocaust and other crimes against humanity and is implicit in denialism.
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I completely agree. Youtube, as any media of such size, has a moral duty and obligation to promote genuine educational media producers. It’s the price of being in business. The public is ill served if all they get is a diet of conspiracy theories and denialism under the guise of free speech and entertainment. The antidote to that is honest, direct presentation based on reputable academic sources.

This website has done nothing more shocking than than the BBC series ‘The Great War’. That series was forthright about the atrocities of war and is acclaimed as a pinnacle of the documentary genre.

The war wasn’t Hollywood. It was real and it was awful.

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