There's another angle to take, one which an insider would normally use... but these are Youtubers we're talking about, and they aren't self-aware enough.

Typically, the view from the belly of the beast reveals the unseen failings and little-discussed peccadillos within the circle of influence of the clique. With Youtubers, that's the problem: they don't think their sphere of influence is as limited as it is.

Because it really is a chummy and insular bunch. They all guest-star on each others' shit. They all reference each other in their videos. Mostly they talk to each other, about each other, for each other - I mean, take that article and strip out all the name-dropping, all the star-fucking and all the needless personal anecdotes and it's pretty much a haiku. If Hollywood operated this way, nothing would ever move beyond the casting couch, as there's no need within the land of Youtube to do anything other than talk to each other in full view of each other about each other so that you can share each other and retweet each other and post video responses of each other and like each other and comment on each other and who gives a fuck about content anyway?

So it should come as no surprise that in a social segment in which popularity is literally power, popularity is used as power. And it should also come as no surprise that in a social segment that has no problem with this whatsoever, there are people who abuse that power. After all, the only thing going on is power.

This is why my feathers get ruffled when you try to extend the problem out to the CBC or the government: These are people who are actually doing something, attempting to change the world for the better, actively contributing to society. The causes are different. The responses are different. It's like comparing summer camp to Fort Bragg. Yeah, both have barracks but the similarity ends there.