YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BUSINESS OF INFLUENCER MARKETING

News

YouTube looking at 'further consequences' for Logan Paul after suicide-forest vlog

YouTube looking at 'further consequences' for Logan Paul after suicide-forest vlog

YouTube is exploring "further consequences" for vlogger Logan Paul over his recent video showing him discovering an apparent suicide victim in Japan.

Google's video service published a series of tweets addressing the controversy, including an apology for taking this long to provide an official statement to its community of creators and viewers.

"Many of you have been frustrated with our lack of communication recently. You’re right to be. You deserve to know what's going on. Like many others, we were upset by the video that was shared last week," explained YouTube.

"Suicide is not a joke, nor should it ever be a driving force for views. As Anna Akana put it perfectly: 'That body was a person someone loved. You do not walk into a suicide forest with a camera and claim mental health awareness.'"

This was a reference to a tweet by the actor on New Year's Day about her own experience of suicide, addressed directly to Paul.

"When my brother found my sister’s body, he screamed with horror & confusion & grief & tried to save her. That body was a person someone loved," wrote Akana. "You do not walk into a suicide forest with a camera and claim mental health awareness."

YouTube's statement made it clear that Paul may be facing further measures following the controversy.

"We expect more of the creators who build their community on @YouTube, as we’re sure you do too. The channel violated our community guidelines, we acted accordingly, and we are looking at further consequences," it explained.

"It’s taken us a long time to respond, but we’ve been listening to everything you’ve been saying. We know that the actions of one creator can affect the entire community, so we’ll have more to share soon on steps we’re taking to ensure a video like this is never circulated again."


Contributing Editor

Stuart is a freelance journalist and blogger who's been getting paid to write stuff since 1998. In that time, he's focused on topics ranging from Sega's Dreamcast console to robots. That's what you call versatility. (Or a short attention span.)