It’s no secret that YouTube has blown up into one of the biggest platforms on the Internet. If you can think of it, there’s probably a YouTube video about it. There are millions of people who make a living creating videos for YouTube, or “YouTubers.” One of these people is a user called PewDiePie (aka Felix Kjellberg). If you are a frequent YouTube viewer such as myself, you’ve more than likely heard of PewDiePie and his gaming videos. Currently, PewDiePie is the most subscribed channel on YouTube with over 53 million subscribers.
Felix’s channel is not exactly the most “family friendly.” Almost every other word that comes out of his mouth is an expletive; he makes crude jokes, and plays games that are inappropriate for young viewers. Still, Felix has a huge following. I have been a fan of his for a few years now simply because his videos are funny and always make me laugh.
Lately, Felix has been under a lot of fire for a particular video that contained anti-Semitic humor. In the video, he uses a website called fiverr, a site that allows you to buy services from users for only five dollars. Felix created a video to show exactly how ridiculous it was that you could pay someone to do almost anything. On fiverr, Felix found two young men from India that would dance around and hold a sign with any message of your choosing. To push the envelope, Felix had the young men write “Death to all Jews” on the sign. This caused the men to be banned from the website and Felix has received a lot of hate. In the video, Felix even states, “I didn’t think they would actually do it.” (The video has since been removed from his channel.)
Felix has been accused of being a racist and supporting Nazism and anti-Semitic views. The Wall Street Journal came out with an article tearing him down and an almost-comical video attempting to convince viewers that he is a Nazi. The video takes cuts from several of PewDiePie’s videos, taking them completely out of context, and splices them together to make it seem as if he is a Nazi supporter.
This is the part where I share my opinion on the subject. I want to start by stating that I do not support anti-Semitism or Nazi sympathizers. I do not believe that Felix is one of these people! There is a sort of unspoken rule on the Internet that almost everything is a joke. People who have grown up using the Internet know that people will make a joke about almost anything. Not only have people have become much more desensitized to violence and profanity, but we also realize the difference between a joke and actual hateful opinions/views. Not to mention, shows like Family Guy and South Park make very similar jokes with almost no backlash.
While I personally believe that the joke was made in bad taste, I also realize that Felix meant no harm in the making of his video. PewDiePie has released several videos apologizing for everything and acknowledges that he took things too far. I think he knows that what he did was wrong and will learn from this incident. (Most recent video: "My Response")
But, I believe that the real problem has less to do with the crude jokes, and more to do with Felix’s following. Felix has called out mainstream media in several of his videos even before he was being attacked. He points out how the media only reports on how much money he makes for playing games and doing “almost nothing,” yet no one talks about how he has raised millions of dollars for charity. Because he has such a large following, PewDiePie calling out the mainstream media is a huge threat to platforms such as the Wall Street Journal. I think they realize this, and they are terrified. Mainstream media sees opinionated independent content creators such as PewDiePie, as a major threat to their brand. Felix can say whatever he wants and have an influence on millions of people.
I think (and hope) that this huge fiasco will blow over with time. The Wall Street Journal has stooped to a childish level, and I believe that once this is over, they will be caught with their pants around their ankles. Independent content creators are on the rise, and there is no stopping it.
