r/SleeplessWatchdogs

Hi all,

I was wondering what your thoughts were on YouTube's new policy. They seem to be flagging a bunch of YouTube channels for inauthentic content now for people whose channels primarily focus on narrating stories from Nosleep.

I know the original intent seemed to be to take down a lot of AI channels, which made sense, since a lot of those channels ripped stories without permission and were basically plagiarizing the writers. But now they basically made it so any channels that narrate our stories get demonitized, which sucks for the real people who actually worked with writers and got permission to narrate our stories.

Thoughts on this?

Hey Nosleepers and Watchdogs,

Edit: My title has a typo, so roast accordingly!

This post addresses plagiarism, as bad actors have used stories without permission, have heavily impacted narrators and content platforms who have worked hard for follow the rules of the various subreddits and adhere to copyright laws globally.

This isn't my usual brand of post. Typically, I'm informing the community about a content creator who is using your work without permission. While I'm just a voice in the crowd, I've spent more time over the last 3 or 4 years fighting against IP and story theft than I have writing. Life has changed, and I find myself spending time with family rather than writing. That said, I'm still here and care very much about the integrity of your work.

It was recently brought to my attention that YouTube has begun demonitizing channels that create horror narrations. r/nosleep is one of the largest outlets providing quality stories to narrators. While I've never lost any sleep (pun intended?) over narrators who have used your stories without permission, a vast number of creators who have worked hard following all of the right steps have been punished under new YouTube policies.

YouTube has started to demonetize horror narration channels based on what they call "inauthentic" content. Anyone receiving this judgement automatically receives a channel demonitization. This is based on their use of an authorized, often paid license for story use.

What does this mean for you? It's fairly simple. YouTube no longer allows channels to create well-edited adaptations and, most importantly, licensed stories to be adapted for audio narration. This limits some authors' audience as well as their ability to be paid licensing fees for use of their work.

Close friends and work partners of mine, including Mr. Grinless, Dr. NoSleep, and my dear friend and author, Jordan Grupe Horror, have lost monetization of their channel. They are no longer compensated for their hard work and the excellent realization of many talented writers' stories they provide on the platform at no cost.

Why do I care? Over the years, narrators have paid me and other authors an excellent fee to transform our stories. That money, for me, went to providing my oldest son with top-tier treatment and care as we navigated the world of autism. I was able to start a fund to send my boys to college. I was able to pay bills ahead of time. It allowed my family a degree of financial stability I didn't know before.

If it offered me these life changing possibilities, I can't imagine what it would offer others.

What can you do? Right now, I'm not sure. What I do know is that inaction isn't an option.

Follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/t/contact_us

Let YouTube know that not all narrators do things the wrong way. Many, like the ones I named above, follow the correct path. Increased hardships on narrators working hard to do things the right way impact us all.

I hope you find time to reach out.

Cheers,

GTripp14 (Ryan Major)