In this day and age it is unfortunate that the idea of new media, specifically the internet, and sexual assault is not uncommon. This happens far more often than one would think, especially with websites like Chatroulette, YouTube, and Reddit. These websites usually come with screen names, which leads to the idea of anonymity. Anonymous Reddit users are exploiting women without their consent while anonymous girls come out to say they have been raped by popular internet personalities. These sorts of things are happening on a daily basis, and no matter how people try to justify these actions as “okay”, they definitely are not. Sexual harassment has been occurring for hundreds of years and social media has only made it easier for the culprit to attain the means for harassment and assault.
Because of people posting rude and crude things online anonymously, there has been major controversy over the question of people being able to keep their online identity a secret. In 2013 Google decided to link Youtube accounts to Google Plus. This means that instead of a username showing up, whatever name you have linked to your Google Plus or Gmail account will show up on YouTube. This ended in Google getting a ton of backlash and making it so that you can still have a username as opposed to your real name (Humphrey). Why were people so upset at the loss of their anonymity? Anonymity online is used for a plethora of things, some good and some bad. Some people use screen names to make uncomfortable topics more comfortable, like abuse, medical conditions, etc. However some people use screen names to make other people uncomfortable. Bullying, hurtful comments, and other forms of online abuse have become a part of everyday life. It is impossible to click on a YouTube video without seeing multiple negative comments below it. Although they do exist, the positive factors outweigh the negative factors. Anonymity enables basic freedom of speech. When people are behind a screen name, they are more likely to say how they are truly feeling. This is proven beneficial through organizations like Emotional Health Anonymous and many anonymous suicide hotlines. Anonymity allows people to feel more comfortable while expressing their views, whereas if they were not anonymous they might be more hesitant. Many people would refute this argument claiming that online anonymity has led to cyber bullying. However, anonymity is actually not too common in cyber bullying. A study done by Harvard’s Berkman Center shows that 73% of the participants who were victims of cyber bullying knew the real identity of the person/people bullying them (Collier).
September 22, 2014 was the day Sam Pepper, a popular YouTuber with nearly 2.5 million subscribers, uploaded a video entitled “Fake Hand Ass Pinch Prank” in which he walked around pinching female’s bottoms without their consent.
This so-called “prank” video left not only the Youtube community in horror and outrage, but became a viral topic. Pepper took the video down, claiming it was a “social experiment”, but it was too late to save his nice-guy facade (McCamley).Though this event was not the first case of popular YouTube personalities committing sexual assault crimes, this particular case began to bring attention to all of the other YouTubers who have been using their status to take advantage of young girls.
After Pepper’s video went viral, many girls came forward to say that his actions did not surprise them. Upwards of ten girls came out to admit that Pepper had either asked them for nude photos, inappropriately touched them, and even raped them. The majority of these girls came out anonymously. One girl, who was raped by Pepper, filmed a video of herself telling her story. She does not give out her name, and does not show her full face. Her Google Plus account is under “I’m Anonymous”. She states that “she is still scared to say her name and show her face, but she is not afraid to tell her story.” If this girl was not able to tell her story, she would be doing the world a disservice. Because the internet is allowing her to be anonymous, she has the courage to share her story with the world. In the video, she claims that she never told anyone about what he did to her because she was scared. She never filed a police report because she was “too scared to file a police report against a celebrity…Scared of backlash, scared of people not believing [her], people telling [her] she was seeking attention, being told [she] was a liar. Scared of never having a career in this industry. Scared that [she] would lose [her] job, scared that [her] friends would take his side because they were all his fans” (I’m Anonymous).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vIh2-q0NTs
This statement clearly demonstrates how people put famous YouTubers on a pedestal and make it seem like they can do no wrong. However in this case, we can see the obvious damage that has been done.
After these girls admitted what Pepper did to them, other girls came out to accuse over 15 other YouTubers of sexual assault. When all of these cases came into the public eye, many people were left with the same question: how have these people gotten away with such disgusting acts and for such a long time? YouTube is no longer just a place for viral videos, but functions very similarly to television. Structured programming has become the force of the website (Smith). Because the site has taken a turn from cat videos to mini-series’, many people look at these people with millions of subscribers as a different kind of celebrity. They aren’t big-screen celebrities, they are self-made from filming videos of themselves doing skits in their bedrooms. They are celebrities on a more relatable level.
Sam Pepper at a fan meet-and-greet in LA.
When watching their videos, they make it seem as if you are actually friends with them. People don’t like to see their friends in bad positions or doing poorly. This is no different with YouTubers. Subscribers put their favorite YouTubers on a pedestal and think that they can do no wrong, so these subscribers just shake off any rumors they have heard. Even though they know the rumors might be true, they don’t want to believe their “friends” could do such horrible things. This is why no one came forward about being abused and assaulted by popular YouTubers until Pepper uploaded a video clearly demonstrating that he was assaulting girls without their consent.
Similarly to Youtube, Reddit has also recently been a part of a cause of assault. The website, another social networking site primarily used for entertainment, has had multiple assault scandals under the anonymous user Violentacrez. Violentacrez created and moderated numerous sub-Reddit sections violating women.“Jailbait” was a sub-Reddit in which people posted pictures of minors in very little clothing. This sub-Reddit became increasingly popular until it ended up on the news and was eventually banned. Another sub-Reddit entitled “Creepshots” was not created by Violentacrez, but once it started gaining attention the user was brought on as a moderator. Creepshots was a section in which users posted secret photos they had taken of women’s private parts. The question here is very similar to the question about the YouTubers: how was he getting away with this? Reddit allows for free speech, and Violentacrez took the idea of free speech to another level. However what was unknown by most is that he had connections to many administrators. He was almost an unpaid employee, helping them work out the early kinks of the website (“Unmasking Reddit’s Violentacrez, The Biggest Troll on the Web”). Although he did not specifically go against anything in Reddit’s official policy, these connections allowed him to seriously push the boundaries of what is actually allowed.
In 2012, Adrian Chen outed Violentacrez as Michael Brutsch. As a consequence of his disgusting actions, Brutsch lost his job at the programming company he had worked for for almost 10 years (“Reddit’s Biggest Troll Fired From His Real-World Job; Reddit Continues to Censor Gawker Articles”).
Sexual assault through media has become all too common. YouTube and Reddit are just a few of the websites this has been occurring on. Women are exploited on a daily basis and social media has only made it easier for the culprit to obtain the materials used for harassment.
Works Cited
Chen, Adrian. “Reddit’s Biggest Troll Fired From His Real-World Job; Reddit Continues to Censor Gawker Articles.” Gawker. N.p., 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
Chen, Adrian. “Unmasking Reddit’s Violentacrez, The Biggest Troll on the Web.” Gawker. N.p., 12 Oct. 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
Collier, Anne. ”The Pros and Cons of Online Anonymity.” The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
Humphrey, Michael. “You Can Still Be Anonymous on YouTube, But When You Comment…” Forbes. Forbes, 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
Jaworski, Michael. “More Women Are Coming Forward to Accuse Sam Pepper of Rape.” The Daily Dot. N.p., 3 Oct. 2014. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.
McCamley, Frankie. “YouTube Star Sam Pepper Faces Sexual Harassment Claims.” BBC News. BBC, 1 Oct. 2014. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.
“Sam Pepper – The Real “Reveal”” YouTube. YouTube, 24 Sept. 2014. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.
Smith, Grady. “How YouTube Is Boldly Becoming More like TV.” EW.com. Entertainment Weekly, 30 Mar. 2013. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.