Opinion
Editors Note: We have already seen this attack on firearms-related channels in the last year, with many of them being wipe off of Youtube and other platforms. AmmoLand News has been blocked or shadow-banned in most social media platforms for our continued and vocal support for the Second Amendment. Now the liberal media has taken their weaponized outrage to all conservative/pro-American channels, and it is having devastating effects of free speech. Our email list is our last uncensored tool for keeping in touch with our readers. Please subscribe and make sure everyone you know is also subscribed to end-run their censorship.
U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)-There is a war happening now on the internet. Big media has decided to run a scorched earth campaign against independent media and journalist(read pro America).
It started with Carlos Maza of Vox (an NBC Universal Company) attacking Steven Crowder for what he perceived as bullying. Crowder made several videos debunking the proud admitted Marxist’s videos. Maza plays up the fact that he is gay in his videos, mentioning it multiple times even if it has nothing to do with the subject at hand. Crowder took repeated shots at Maza for exploiting his sexual preference to avoid criticism.
Maza and media giant Vox started a campaign to get Crowder banned from YouTube. At first, YouTube refused his calls to deplatform the comedian. Maza was enraged and began contacting advertisers that advertise on the Google run site. YouTube demonetized Crowder’s popular channel in response to Vox’s campaign to the platform, even though Crowder broke no rules!
Vox and Maza still were not happy with YouTube actions. Maza, who on Twitter openly called for physical violence against conservatives, believes that big media should be the gatekeepers of information.
On CBS Sunday morning Greta Van Susteren argued that the media should give people all the information in an argument and should let people decide for themselves on what side they land. Maza insisted that people do not know what is right for them, so the media’s job is to gatekeep the information.
Other big media companies took the opportunity and jumped on the bandwagon pushing for the demonetization of independent creators. Vice Media ran stories of independent creators “bullying” prominent media personalities. Buzzfeed jumped on the bandwagon as well claiming that independent journalist targeted their much more famous counterparts for harassment. The Verge joined the effort and piled on independent creators.
All these well-funded websites kept piling on YouTube until there was a mass demonetization of independent creators. It just wasn’t right-wing channels getting demonetized. Ford Fischer covers protest around the world. Fischer leans left on almost all issues, but YouTube demonetized all of his videos. YouTube also demonetized history videos because of big media’s pressure.
None of these YouTube creators violated any terms of service. YouTube even confirmed this fact, but the big media’s threat to contact advertisers caused what came to be known on the internet as the “voxapocalypse.”
Overnight these creators saw their livelihoods disappear. The purge left them without a way to pay rent, put food on their table, and pay their bills. Big media released articles praising YouTube for their move but insisted that YouTube go further and kick their targets off the platform.
The large media companies went after other independent creators on the YouTube platform. Jeremy Hambly is the host of the gaming channel named “The Quartering.” Ian Sherr CNET (A CBS company) wrote a series of hit pieces on Hambly and other gaming channels calling them “angry” and insinuating that they are myogenic.
In Hambly’s case, he called out a journalist for giving a game a bad review because the zombies were not diverse enough. Sherr thought this was racist and harassment of a prominent media game journalist Hambly did not target the journalist. He focused on her weird obsession with the race of zombies in a video game.
Sherr started contacting Hambly’s sponsor, asking them why they support racism and misogyny. DeVry University and Game Fly both dropped their sponsorship of Hambly’s YouTube channel. Several other gaming channels also experienced CNET’s wrath.
Big media wasn’t done attacking independent media sources. The New York Times wrote a front-page article about a single guy being “radicalize” by voices on YouTube. The report pointed to some right-wing creators but also led to some middle of the road creators too.
Some of the names included were Ben Shapiro, Jordan B. Peterson, and Dave Rubin. Rubin does not consider himself a “right-wing conservative.” Rubin is a classical liberal married to a man. The New York Times believes he is a leader of an anti-LGBTQ movement.
Most puzzling was the inclusion of Philip DeFranco. On the online version of the article when scrolling down pictures disappear as the language gets more inflammatory. The last picture that is left is that of DeFranco.
DeFranco is far from controversial. He hosts The Philip DeFranco show and is the founder of Rogue Rocket. Rogue Rocket goal is to give the independent journalist a platform to share their stories. Why would the New York Times include DeFranco in their hit piece?
It seems like the big media’s attack on independent media isn’t about left vs. right. I believe it is about the bottom line. Big media is hemorrhaging money at a record pace, and independent media is on the rise. These attacks could be their way of protecting their profits.
Second Video Take
Vox and CNET are worth a fraction of what they were worth when purchased. Vice is dying out and struggling to keep their head about the water. People are seeking out fresh and new opinions like they get from AmmoLand News. They are searching for facts that they don’t get from big media. The Internet user of today do not want gatekeepers. They want to make up their own mind.
Is there a concerted effort to silence the voices of independent media? I wouldn’t go that far. What I believe is happening is that these big media giants see Vox’s efforts at silencing smaller media entities working. Vox laid down the road map, and other conglomerates are following it.
We can fight back against those that want to silence the voices of independent media. Most creators have a Patreon or a Subscribe Star account. Through these accounts, you can pledge financial support. Even a single dollar makes a difference.
Most importantly it is about engagement. Seek out these independent journalists and creators. Read their articles. Watch their videos. Engagement doesn’t cost money but makes a world of difference to the creator. The more engagement a creator gets the exposure their message gets.
I recommend Tim Pool. Pool leans left but calls out those on the left using tribalism to advance their beliefs. He is an advocate for free speech and believes that the general population should be able to come up with their own opinions instead of being spoon fed what big media wants you to think.
One of my favorite lines from comic books is from Alan Moore’s masterpiece, The Watchmen. The saying goes, “Who’s watching the watchers.”
I think the answer to that question falls on all of us.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. He is the former CEO of Veritas Firearms, LLC and is the co-host of The Patriot News Podcast which can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/patriotnews. John has written extensively on the patriot movement including 3%’ers, Oath Keepers, and Militias. In addition to the Patriot movement, John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and is currently working on a book on leftist deplatforming methods and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, on Facebook at realjohncrump, or at www.crumpy.com.