Ethics Question

[Reef Psychology]

There's this YouTuber and they recently hyped up a product. There is no advertising announcements or disclaimers, but the product maker is linked in the BIO. I posted question like "Is this a sponsored product?" And my comment gets flagged as "spam". I posted the question again in another way. It disappears. I try one more time, but kinda do it more subtlety. It gets deleted once again.

Was it wrong of me to unsubscribe to their channel? And, is this becoming more of an issue in reefing? Because I've been noticing it a lot more of this stuff on smaller channels these days.

 

[Outlaw Corals]

No, I don’t think you were wrong at all. I don’t blame you one bit i would do the same thing.

 

[vetteguy53081]

There's this YouTuber and they recently hyped up a product. There is no advertising announcements or disclaimers, but the product maker is linked in the BIO. I posted question like "Is this a sponsored product?" And my comment gets flagged as "spam". I posted the question again in another way. It disappears. I try one more time, but kinda do it more subtlety. It gets deleted once again.

Was it wrong of me to unsubscribe to their channel? And, is this becoming more of an issue in reefing? Because I've been noticing it a lot more of this stuff on smaller channels these days.

Its a risk one takes and unless you can find feedback, it makes me reluctant

 

[Gtinnel]

I agree that it’s not wrong of you to unsub them. When YouTubers appear to review/discuss a product without bias, but they are actually sponsored then it is doing the whole community a disservice.

 

[Reef.]

Makes me stop watching even if the ads are disclosed when a small channel starts pushing products they know nothing about and don’t use.

The channel I’m talking about did disclose the ads but the channel started to turn into one long ad, I did post a comment, actually got a reply saying thanks for the feedback, which was the guy just being polite as anyone could see the amount of ads was far too many.

Also congratulated a channel for getting a sponsor, when it is clear the products were actually being reviewed and used by the channel.

So no unsubscribing when your comments were deleted was justified.

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

Nothing wrong to ask. Being transparent on this wether it is sponsored or not would be more reputable than deleting a ppst asking.

It is also ok to unfollow people for any reason. It is a personal choice. Opinions or views change, maybe they are beginning to promote stuff not related or you dont like. Or just decide to move on. No issue unsubbing for any reason. Its a personal choice.

 

[VintageReefer]

I would never feel bad unsubscribing from any channel for any reason. You didn’t like something and left. Why would you feel guilty? They have one less subscriber, I think they will be just fine

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

There's this YouTuber and they recently hyped up a product. There is no advertising announcements or disclaimers, but the product maker is linked in the BIO. I posted question like "Is this a sponsored product?" And my comment gets flagged as "spam". I posted the question again in another way. It disappears. I try one more time, but kinda do it more subtlety. It gets deleted once again.

Was it wrong of me to unsubscribe to their channel? And, is this becoming more of an issue in reefing? Because I've been noticing it a lot more of this stuff on smaller channels these days.

Its commendable that you're expressing a healthy skepticism. Something that gets overlooked by many.

I think you'd be surprised at how many influencers actually shill for free product.

It would be nice to see hobbyist join together to encourage folks like that to disclose that type of information.

It would go a long way in helping people determine what's an infomercial and what's authentic.

 

[KrisReef]

Yours seems to be the Ethical response if you feel the channel/site/person is not being ethical in their presentations. I wish more people would turn their backs on these kinds of outlets and that our society encouraged honest discussions and truthful debates instead of hype, excitement, drama, and entertainment all awash in all kinds of corruptions.

Except that I kind of like ****, so getting rid of that is a dilemma, but shilling, "News" that is propaganda, and advertisements for junk products I'm totally in favor of getting that out of the way.

 

[Reef Psychology]

Thanks everyone. It's an older channel with a reefer returning to the scene so I was a little bummed out that they did this. Always liked their posts before. They even shouted me out (under a different name) as very helpful in their journey with problems.

 

[Reef Psychology]

Yours seems to be the Ethical response if you feel the channel/site/person is not being ethical in their presentations. I wish more people would turn their backs on these kinds of outlets and that our society encouraged honest discussions and truthful debates instead of hype, excitement, drama, and entertainment all awash in all kinds of corruptions.

Except that I kind of like ****, so getting rid of that is a dilemma, but shilling, "News" that is propaganda, and advertisements for junk products I'm totally in favor of getting that out of the way.

That's a lot like my reefing skills when I see people in SPS showing off their tanks.... then me trying it and failing. TY for the laugh.

 

[Homewrecker]

Lots of times you'll meet these youtubers and find its all regurgitated information and product placements. There are few and far between I would pay attention to unfortunately.

I'd unsub rather than watch an infomercial

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

It’s definitely tempting to become an advertiser for companies to get free products and revenue. That’s what most of YouTube is, marketing. It’s important for those making the videos to remember why they are doing it in the first place. If they are there to make money and be a marketer, then they should disclose that. But honestly, most viewers want to see expensive products and livestock anyway. It allows them to check it out before buying.
But for the record, YouTube does require that the “Paid Promotion” label is on videos that include a product of monetary value, or money given for a featured video. This let’s the audience know that they are watching a “commercial”, in a sense. I am not a YouTuber though.