After receiving a community strike banning him from
livestreaming content for three months, prominent
YouTuber Grimm Green said:
“For the first time ever, I’m genuinely worried. This
isn’t an exaggeration. Damn the man, save the empire.”
While the hysteria around JUUL may have sparked
the initial wave of strikes, many fear that vape-
related content is at risk of being banned from the
site altogether. Some suspect that a strike on one
of TiaVapes’ videos was due to its title alluding to
offering discounts to viewers. Others on both sides
of the Atlantic have had their channels deleted,
sometimes with years-worth of work expunged from
the internet.
One explanation for the removal of some videos is
that they contain references to CBD. Despite being
legal in most countries and US states, it has been
suggested that bots scanning videos for forbidden
content are picking up on references to the cannabis-
derived compound and flagging videos for supposed
drug-related content.
In other cases, videos are being marked as spam
which, in the case of Rob of ukvapester.co.uk, led to
the deleting of his account and a permanent ban. On
Twitter, Rob said:
“No warnings …No strikes … Permanent account
ban and delete. Two years of my life gone … I don’t
understand.”
Uncertainty around what exactly is and is not
permissible has forced the community to consider
migrating to other social platforms. Vimeo has proven
to be the most popular so far. But the community is a
lot smaller, restricting potential for channels to make
money. Some of the more prominent channel-owners
rely entirely upon YouTube to support themselves
and their families.
Content-creators are now also seriously looking
to new platforms that cater exclusively to vape-
related content.
“FOR THE FIRST TIME
EVER, I’M GENUINELY
WORRIED. THIS ISN’T
AN EXAGGERATION”
GRIMM GREEN
Vape Tube is a relatively new platform which has
seen an influx of channels open since fears of an all-
out YouTube vape ban began to circulate. The likes
of The Devil Vaper and SirVapingAlot have already
begun to upload content to the site.
Instagram receives a lot of traffic from within the
vaping community, with the site seemingly happy
to allow the promotion of vape-related content.
However, the site is owned by Facebook, it’s possible
that users there may soon face tighter regulations.
One potential alternative for vaping Instagrammers
is Vaffle, which has become commonly referred to
as the ‘vaping Instagram’ since its launch earlier this
year. Vaffle provides vapers with a platform to share
images, build social connections and learn about
vaping. The app includes a DIY e-liquid tool and an
Ohm’s Law calculator, among other things.
In their own shake-up on advertising regulations,
Reddit sub ECR announced a ban on all e-cigarette-
related sales back in March. Shortly after the
announcement was made, users began making
proposals to create and migrate to an off-site forum
allowing users to sell and advertise products and link
to recommended vape shops.
A similar plan has already been finalised by users
of the CBD subreddit site theCBD.place
provides visitors with advice on CBD and a database
of vetted companies.
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