Some figures in the controversial “GunTuber” community are fleeing YouTube after the platform began cracking down on machine gun videos and the marketing of firearms on the app.
At least four large YouTube channels devoted to firearms have announced they’re quitting the platform and moving to rival services with looser rules.
And although many of the biggest channels are continuing to post on YouTube, they’ve been expressing concern that they’re no longer welcome on the video service after it tightened regulation of gun content.
YouTube, which is owned by Google, has for years imposed rules on gun videos. It has long banned the direct sale of firearms on the platform, as well as videos that show how to make firearms and ammunition.
But in June, it kicked off a series of actions that sparked concern among gun creators. One new rule bans content that shows the removal of firearm safety devices.
A second new rule limits who can watch videos that show the use of automatic weapons or homemade weapons, so that only people ages 18 or older can see them, and ads cannot run on the videos.
And a third change tackled a gray area: links to sites that sell firearms. Since 2018, YouTube’s firearms policy has told people “don’t post” if their purpose is to sell firearms or to link to sites that sell firearms, but enforcement has been inconsistent.
YouTube said it would expand enforcement on content with links to gun retailers, including landing pages to purchase a gun.
The changes have ruffled the feathers of major players in the GunTube community, some of whom have gained millions of subscribers on the platform, secured major partnership deals and worked with YouTube representatives for years.
The tension highlights the large role that YouTube has played for more than a decade in promoting gun culture online, despite the app’s existing restrictions.
“The entire industry feeds off of YouTube, whether they will admit it or not,” Jon Patton, a gun reviewer with 369,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, told the firearms podcast “The Reload” in an August interview.
There are dozens of gun-themed channels with 1 million or more subscribers on YouTube and many more channels with smaller followings.
Some focus on reviews of newly made firearms or on historical weapons of war, while others show off favorites from their personal arsenal or use guns to perform stunts like carving a Halloween jack-o’-lantern.
YouTube says gun videos are only one part of its enormous app.
“YouTube is the world’s biggest video library and as a result, home to a huge range of interests and online cultures, from video gaming to music to educational tutorials to sports to podcasts. Responsible firearms content is just one part of this vibrant mix of communities,” the company said in a statement.
Many gun channels are built around sponsorship deals: They get money from retailers or companies that make guns or gun accessories, and in exchange, the channels often share links to those sponsors, sometimes with channel-specific promo codes.
