Logan Paul is Only Getting More Subscribers After Filming Japanese Suicide Victim

January 4, 2018

For a moment there it almost appeared that Logan Paul’s career was over.

After the massive backlash he drew on Monday and Tuesday for posting a video featuring a suicide victim’s dead body, everyone said he is finished.

Despite the criticisms, however, his fans have remained devoted, expressing undying support for their idol and defending him on social media.

Not only that, his YouTube channel is also gaining even more followers.

This can be quite puzzling for many since he and his posse’s recent actions are obviously done in bad taste. After “accidentally” finding a dead body in a forest renowned for suicides, he started laughing and throwing tasteless jokes around. Adding in somber background music did not mask the horrible insensitivity the video reeked of.

People would normally see through the absurdity of his claims that he posted the video because he was merely trying to make a “positive ripple on the internet”. His followers should’ve abandoned him sooner, right? Initially, some actually did, as his numbers dropped soon after the online backlash. However, the trend did not last long and reversed itself immediately.

According to Social Blade, Logan Paul has gained over 120,000 new subscribers on YouTube since the controversial video. And his followers are still growing by the minute.

It should not be that too surprising if one considers what actually made him famous in the first place. His ascent to social media popularity, much like his younger brother, was basically driven by buffoonery and asshattery.

Those who knew Logan before the incident in the “suicide forest” would recognize how he thrives on controversy. Expect the aptly named “Logang” to grow even bigger as such notoriety apparently endears him most to his core audience of young and impressionable children. That is the sad reality.

But what is more unfortunate is that despite the magnitude of his offense, his YouTube account apparently still remains in good standing. This means he could still be earning tens of thousands of dollars daily through the platform.

YouTube’s statement about the incident sent to YouTuber Philip DeFranco did not even show any condemnation of Logan’s actions:

“YouTube prohibits violent or gory content posted in a shocking, sensational, or disrespectful manner. If a video is graphic, it can only remain on the site when supported by appropriate educational or documentary information and in some cases, it will be age-gated.”

In fact, it was revealed that the video has been okayed by YouTube’s moderation team despite being flagged by concerned viewers. BuzzFeed reported that one of YouTube’s own content assessment team posted a screenshot that showed that the video had been approved on January 1 after being flagged by viewers.

This is a video with a hanging body of a dead person in the thumbnail titled “We found a dead body in the Japanese Suicide Forest” passing YouTube’s moderation check. It was even promoted on the site’s front page, ranking among its top ten trending videos.

A petition calling on YouTube to delete Logan Paul’s channel has exceeded its initial goal of 80,000 signatures and is now nearing its new goal of 150,000 signatures. Whether YouTube will eventually take action remains to be seen.

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