Running a YouTube channel means dealing with a wide range of comments, some thoughtful, some critical, and some that are off-topic, hateful, manipulative, passive-aggressive, or full of misinformation.
I have a simple policy: comments that derail the discussion, mischaracterize the topic, insult, me, the channel, viewers or other commenters, or spread false information get deleted. That’s not censorship, it’s moderation.
This policy has always existed.
Lately, people have tried to weaponize that policy in three ways.
First, by claiming I only allow people who agree with me to comment. That’s false. Plenty of critical comments stay up, as long as they are relevant and not abusive. What doesn’t stay up are distractions, misinformation, or personal attacks.
If you post anything like that in the comment section, it will be deleted; it’s not my job to get into a back-and-forth with you in the comment section.
Second, some have tried to frame moderation as an infringement on their free speech. That argument misunderstands how free speech works. The First Amendment protects you from government censorship, not from community guidelines on a private platform. You are free to speak, but you’re not entitled to a guaranteed platform in the AfL comment section. YouTube provides channels moderation tools, and YouTube has its process for addressing abusive, harassing, spamming, and duplicative comments, which I have no control over.
Third, people delete their comments and then publicly accuse me of removing them, knowing that this moderation policy exists, they try to weaponize it by trying to create a false narrative that I delete anything I don’t like. I am explicitly calling this out, because I am not a dumbass, and I can plainly see people trying to set up the assets to float a false narrative.
This channel is a space for conversation, not chaos. I set boundaries so that discussions stay factual, relevant, and respectful. People who want to spread lies, hate, or distraction, or engage in manipulation or pointless rhetorical debate, are free to do so elsewhere. If you don’t like the boundaries as they have been set, that’s totally fine. They still stand.
