Seriously. Bad idea. In good faith, but bad.

De-Mainstream YouTube is a browser extension that removes Mainstream Media results from YouTube searches:

• “Once your block-list is in place, all YouTube searches will hide the selected YouTube channels automatically from the results."
• “As you are browsing and using YouTube search, all of the YouTube channels in your block-list will be hidden from results. All mainstream YouTube channels will not be shown."

The reasons for creating De-Mainstream YouTube would be that it is time to give power back to Independent YouTube Creators, because:

• “The YouTube algorithm is promoting and recommending mainstream news more often, and independent less”
• “Youtube injects Mainstream Media sources into their search results and forces out real independent YouTube creators that built the platform”

The road to hell is paved with good intentions

I understand, and support, the frustration and rage of independent YouTube creators. Of course, the only real solution to problems like these is migration.

YouTube is 100% private property. YouTubers, even the most successful, are nothing kids playing inside the backyard of some unreachable landlord, who has full rights to change the rules in any moment, no justifications due.

So, YouTubers of the world, migrate! As soon as you can, switch to other platforms, like Vimeo or, even better when possible, PeerTube, and then syndicate content the old right way, that is RSS.

But I digress. Back to Demainstream YouTube, now.

I understand the good faith, and the existence of positive use cases. But I can’t think of a better way to let full QAnon nutcases, good-faith misinformed or prejudiced people, and everybody in between, put themselves definitely beyond redemption.

Please understand that I wrote QAnon only as the current, maybe most extreme example of people who would hurt themselves with this browser extension. But what I said applies in general, to every conceivable topic, from vaccines to the right way to roll spaghetti with forks.

Because YouTube, just like Facebook, Twitter, etc… is deliberately designed to radicalize and polarize on every topic. YouTUbe already “removes mainstream media”, or more exactly: the middle ground, with excessive ease, no matter what one searches for. An extension like that is like automatically adding salt to any plate, even if it was too salty to begin with: makes you sick much sooner, faster.

Cable news? Which cable news?

This is especially true for people who cannot, as someone objected to me the first time I made this point, “combine YouTube with cable TV news”. That is not an option. Too many people are cutting cable, often because they cannot afford it anymore, have alread cut it, or will never have it, if they are less than 30 years old. For all those people, places like YouTube ARE “the mainstream”. For them, extensions like De-Mainstream YouTube would only increase the concentration of “toxic” i.e. extreme substances, in that one mainstream. Again, this applies to anything, not just conspiracy theories. So no, thanks.

Unavoidable (not only) self-promotional plug: it “mainstream media” videos are toxic, there is a much better way to get news that matter: READ, instead of watching videos, on whatever platform. It can be as addicting as video, but in a much healthier way. Especially if you read both mainstream websites, and independent, serious, good small outlets like this. There are thousands. To know how and why to support this one, click here.