Police Unions Wanted Auditor Revenue Gone. Then YouTube Demonetized Them.

Description for those like me who want info before deciding to spend time on watching a video in their Lemmy client:

Beginning around August 31, First Amendment auditors and government-accountability creators began reporting channel-level YouTube demonetization under the platform’s Creator Responsibility policy.

At the same time, claims spread that police unions or government officials were behind the crackdown.

So Thin Blue Lies went looking for the paper trail.

What we found is complicated.

Police organizations really have publicly targeted auditor monetization.

A Suffolk County police-union president really did say YouTube allowing creators to monetize this content “needs to stop.”

He really did communicate with Todd Blanche before Blanche became Attorney General — but the publicly described subject of that conversation was threats, doxxing and violence directed at officers, not YouTube demonetization.

Suffolk County prosecutors really did subpoena Google in the criminal case involving Long Island Audit founder SeanPaul Reyes.

And multiple accountability creators later reported enforcement under YouTube’s Creator Responsibility policy.

But the most important piece of evidence is still missing:

We have not found a communication showing that a government agency or police union asked YouTube or Google to demonetize these creators.

Timing is not tracing.

This investigation separates what we can document from what remains allegation, theory or unanswered question.

YouTube’s published Creator Responsibility policy says creators may be held responsible for certain on- and off-platform behavior, and serious enforcement can include loss of monetization or removal from the YouTube Partner Program.

TAKE ACTION — KEEP IT FACTUAL AND LAWFUL

If you want answers, request records.

Ask public agencies for communications involving Google, YouTube, affected creators, monetization, First Amendment auditors, and related complaints or referrals.

No threats. No harassment. No swarming personal accounts. Do not contact anyone’s family.

Official resources:

YouTube Creator Responsibility policy - https://support.google.com/youtubecreatorstudio/answer/7650329?hl=en DOJ — Submit and Track a FOIA Request - https://www.justice.gov/oip/submit-and-track-request-or-appeal Suffolk County — FOIL Request Portal - https://suffolkcountyny.gov/services/citizen-services Thin Blue Lies Media - https://www.thinblueliesmedia.com/ Free Police Accountability Toolkit - https://www.thinblueliesmedia.com/resources

The DOJ FOIA portal can be used for records involving offices including the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General.

The useful question is not:

“Who do we blame?”

It is:

“What communications exist?”

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CHAPTERS

0:00 Police Wanted the Monetization Gone 0:26 The Demonetization Wave 1:24 YouTube’s Creator Responsibility Policy 2:41 What Did YouTube Think They Did? 3:38 Police Unions Were Already Targeting the Money 4:56 The Civello–Blanche Connection 5:39 Suffolk County Subpoenas Google 7:26 What the Evidence Actually Shows 8:08 The Missing Link 8:35 Another Explanation 9:40 Turner’s Theory — Not YouTube’s 10:10 Why This Matters to Thin Blue Lies 10:51 The First Amendment Question 11:15 Government Coercion vs. Platform Choice 11:43 What Evidence Would Prove It? 12:29 Take Action: Follow the Records 12:51 Evidence Beats Assumption

This video is documentary commentary and reporting. Statements by creators and other individuals are attributed to their speakers. Allegations are not presented as established fact unless supported by the evidence discussed in the video.

Source links worth putting in the description

These are the core first-party/source videos I’d prioritize rather than dumping every video we reviewed:

Long Island Audit — demonetization/Creator Responsibility — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIp_zcTTtx8 Bay Area Transparency - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHrw4sPCGoE Denver Metro Audits - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3FgKxy9q1Y Phillip Turner / The Battousai — https://www.youtube.com/live/I869zOEMreA San Joaquin Valley Transparency - https://www.youtube.com/live/apn-smpnjVc RNN reporting/interviews - https://www.youtube.com/live/jSYBT8ZE5yY Roland Mumford — legal analysis - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe-_MqY2Bp8

#PoliceAccountability #FirstAmendment #YouTubeDemonetization