Is YouTube attempting to silence any discussion of wokeness being injected in video games, or was it all just a creepy coincidence?
It’s unclear what cut short a bombshell podcast stream on the Google-owned video platform with a former member of Black Girl Gamers, a collective and narrative consultancy that finds itself at the center of a firestorm of controversy for both the content it creates and potential discriminatory hiring practice.
What is clear is that it remained up on two other platforms more amenable to free speech — and, according to the podcast host, the video has been hit with limits on monetization and visibility when it was uploaded in its entirety to YouTube.
The interview in question involved a Twitch streamer who goes by the pseudonym Gothix, who alleges she was kicked out of the group for being “anti-black” — despite being black, obviously — because she questioned many of the group’s positions, including what she says was anti-white racism.
“As [a] former Black Girl Gamers member, I can confidently say these people are full of crap. They do NOT care about diversity. They promptly kicked me out for being ‘anti-black’ AKA, not making an idol out of my skin color and refusing to hate white people,” she said in a post on X last week after Black Girl Gamers threatened to sue those accusing them of racist hiring practices.
“I was harassed for MONTHS after the fact, and received an onslaught of vitriol from many of their BLACK members. You know how BGG responded? They blocked me and literally scrubbed my existence off of their platforms,” she added.
I was harassed for MONTHS after the fact, and received an onslaught of vitriol from many of their BLACK members. You know how BGG responded? They blocked me and literally scrubbed my existence off of their platforms.
— (Vanessa) Gothix (@GothixTV) March 27, 2024
She made similar claims during her interview on the Side Scrollers Podcast.
Do you play video games?
“This is the problem … when people make skin color into an idol,” Gothix said.
“They worship their skin color and they think that that’s their identity, and then they have to make up all these weird rules and regulations about what it means to be black.”
“You guys are saying this is a safe space and I don’t feel safe,” she added, saying her legitimate opinions were under attack thanks to the group’s wokeness.
However, Side Scrollers Podcast co-host Stuttering Craig said their “show stopped midstream on YouTube” as they were going “down a deep rabbit hole” on DEI in gaming.
As they were talking about the “rabbit hole” and how “it goes far back,” in fact, the stream got cut.
“Our show just stopped,” Stuttering Craig said in the middle of one of Gothix’s answers.
“Yeah, it says zero!” another co-host, pseudonym BX, exclaimed.
“Huh?” Gothix said.
Watch the moment yourself:
Today on @SideScrollerPod we spoke with @GothixTV about her personal experience with #BlackGirlGaming & went down a deep rabbit hole with @bx_on_x about the governments involvement in video games – and our show stopped midstream on YouTube.
It continued on @rumblevideo &… pic.twitter.com/iv427bJIZo
— Stuttering Craig (Official) (@StutteringCraig) March 28, 2024
The show continued on two other video-streaming platforms, Rumble and Locals, which tend to be more open in their free-speech policy. Stuttering Craig later posted about the limited monetization and visibility even after the full episode was uploaded to YouTube.
Episode is still up. YouTube has hit it with limited monetization & visibility https://t.co/aKO4g3F1WT
— Stuttering Craig (Official) (@StutteringCraig) March 28, 2024
So, innocent mistake? Tech error? You decide, although keep in mind that the media has leapt to the defense of video game firms accused of injecting wokeness into titles in recent weeks.
The main controversy has centered around Sweet Baby Inc., a company that’s worked on titles like “Spider Man 2” and “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.”
After a Steam group boycotting titles the company has worked on due to the content gained hundreds of thousands of followers, the video game press wrote fawning articles about SBI’s work while eliding over the more problematic details of its work. One tech journo, meanwhile, called for a “final purge” of those opposed to DEI-tastic storylines, and another said that “in a just world these clowns would have their steam accounts turned off, their PlayStations bricked and get booted from any respectable social platform.”
In the case of Gothix and the Side Scrollers Podcast, YouTube may have actually granted that journalist’s wish.
