Youtube has a history of removing gun related videos with no explanation. Sometimes the pages are brought back up due to misunderstandings and others stay down.
Their latest victim is Reid Henrichs of Valor Ridge. Henrichs’ youtube page was recently suspended after a year and a half of producing excellent, high-quality, firearm training content. His account was suspended without warning after being flagged as “spam” by unknown users. The video being “flagged” was 8 months old – so why now?
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The support of Henrichs’ viewers and other members of the pro-gun community, such as youtube superstar Hank Strange, made it possible for his account to be reinstated. He attributes the success of having his account reinstated to Tim Harmsen from Military Arms Channel (MAC), Mr.Gunsngear, Hank Strange, TNOutdoors9, VSO Gun Channel, AK Operator’s Union, Hickok.45, FreeRepublic, and Bob Owens from Bearingarm.com. Thousands of people shared his story and reached out to youtube on his behalf without being asked. It was truly a testament to how tight-knit the gun-owning community is.
Henrichs told American Military News:
“Hank Strange got involved, all these guys got involved, it was great. These people did this all on their own, completely unsolicited.”
This comes on the heels of the extremely large Second Amendment Advocacy Group, Cold Dead Hands having their 1.2 million person Facebook page shut down, then reactivated due to a group of anti-gun group planning “flagging attacks” to get Second Amendment and firearm training accounts shut down.
One of the largest firearms YouTube channels was shut down recently when Hickock45’s page was shut down. After public pressure due to the arbitrary banning, Hickock’s page was then reactivated.
Luckily, Henrichs he was able to have his account reinstated after two days. On July 8, 2016 he received notice that his account has been reinstated. He attributes the quick turn around to overwhelming support from the pro-gun community.
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Henrichs is the President of Valor Ridge and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. His military service and passion for responsible gun ownership has made him an expert in the field of firearms and he has trained thousands even including NYPD and others. His videos featured informative tips on how to properly handle firearms, what firearms are most appropriate for different shooters, and video footage of conduct courses for a variety of weapons.
His expertise earned him an astounding 70,000 subscribers since launch and in turn has been educating thousands of people on how to responsibly enjoy their Second Amendment rights.
The video below is the video that caused his account to be suspended. It shows Henrichs discussing whether a long gun or hand gun is better for first-time shooters. It’s important to note that this video was up for almost eight months before being randomly and unexpectedly removed.
As you can see from watching the video, there is nothing mentioned that would qualify as spam. Despite the fact that his video clearly does not violate Youtube’s terms of service the page was removed and the site is hesitant to reinstate his account. The only explanation offered to Henrichs at the time the video was taken down was an automated message stating:
“This account has been suspended due to multiple or severe violations of YouTube’s policy against spam, gaming, misleading content, or other Terms of Service violations.”
The mass censorship of pro-gun pages on Youtube is enabled by their fully automated flagging system. The system allows anti-gun groups to brigade any subject they disagree with by flagging the video for violating the sites terms of service, even if no true violation has occurred. There is no human element used to verify whether or not the complaints are legitimate or simply an interested group brigading any topic they don’t agree with. Once enough complaints, or flags, are received the account is taken down. No questions asked.
It is then up to the user that was wrongly targeted to appeal the decision to a human member of the sites staff. The user is not allowed to face their accuser, argue against the bogus claims or even explain their side of the story before being labeled guilty of a crime they didn’t commit. Youtube has created possibly the most un-American review process possible.
After his account was suspended Henrichs related the following video describing what happened to him to inform others and give an update on his appeal process.
According to Henrichs Youtube employees were extremely helpful and courteous from the moment he contacted him to the moment the issue was resolved. It is clear to anyone, no matter how anti-gun they may be, that his video did not violate the terms of service which also helped his case. He offered the following advice to AmericanMilitaryNews.com and anyone that finds them selves in a similar situation:
“immediately after you file your appeal talk to a live person. Demand a live person, but be polite”
Henrichs has since moved his some of his videos to Full30.com but plans to continue to post his videos on Youtube. If you want to show support for Henrichs, or simply view some of his other awesome videos, visit his Facebook page here.
Remember, it was the unity of the pro-gun community that got Henrichs’ account reinstated so quickly. Not every Youtuber will have the backing and support Henrichs received. Stay vigilant and be prepared to call out injustice whenever you see it.
To see more of Henrichs in action watch the video below. It offers a glimpse into the high quality content gun lovers will be missing out on due to the needless removal of his videos.
