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People are critcizing YouTube for inaction after Jacksfilms said he was doxxed by a rival creator to her 34 million followers

Oct 20, 2023, 18:34 IST
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YouTuber Jack Douglass, also known as Jacksfilms.Jacksfilms/YouTube
  • People are criticizing YouTube for perceived inaction over a creator getting doxxed.
  • A streamer posted a photo of Jacksfilms' house to her millions of followers while they were feuding.
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People are criticizing YouTube for how the company responded when a popular creator said he had been doxxed.

Jacksfilms, whose real name is Jack Douglass, is a well-known creator who has been on YouTube since 2006, and has 4.9 million subscribers.

He has been critical of a streamer named Sssniperwolf, who has 34 million subs, for some time. He's accused her of not properly giving credit for the content she reacts to on her channel. She has denied that her content isn't original.

After a months-long back and forth between the two, Sssniperwolf, whose name is Alia Shelesh, appeared at Douglass' house on October 14. She posted several Instagram stories — one where she asked her several million followers if she should go to his home, and another where she posted a photo of his house.

Douglass was livestreaming at the time, and his friends made him aware of the posts and urged him to call the police.

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Douglass called Shelesh's behavior "creepy, gross," and "violating," in a post on X, and accused her of stalking. He also said coming to his house and taking photos was a form of doxxing — a term used when someone's personal information is leaked online without their permission.

Douglass' wife, Erin, also voiced her concern on X, addressing YouTube. She confirmed Shelesh had come to their house, and "posted it on her Instagram for all to see, and tried to instigate a confrontation."

Douglass also posted a short YouTube video about the situation. He said Shelesh was "goading" him when she asked him to "talk like adults" in one of her stories.

He said he and Erin were fine, but a little "shaken up" and felt "violated" by the situation.

"We no longer feel safe in our own home because we're dealing with someone who genuinely thinks they're in the right for stalking me," Douglass said. "What a disgusting abuse of clout that is. This is irresponsible at best and flat-out dangerous at worst."

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Douglass also said he thought Shelesh should be removed from YouTube. He said if her actions went unpunished, it would set a "terrifying precedent" for any creator criticizing another.

"In my 17 years on YouTube, I've never once had someone come to my home and vaguely threaten me," he said. "Sssniperwolf needs to be deplatformed."

He added: "Anyone who weaponizes their fan base like she did, does not deserve a space here."

On October 14, Shelesh defended herself on her Instagram story, claiming Douglass had been "harassing" her "for months." She also shared a screen recording of all of Douglass' YouTube videos about her, referring to it as "obsessive behavior."

Since then she has not publicly addressed the situation. Insider has reached out to her for comment.

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YouTube did not return a request for comment from Insider, and did not publicly respond to Douglass' requests for Shelesh's channel to be terminated.

However, the company's TeamYouTube account on X replied to a user who asked what their policy on doxxing was. It responded by saying the platform doesn't allow "harmful behaviors" including threats and doxxing.

"You don't allow it? Can you do something about this then?" the user replied, linking Douglass' X posts.

Douglass quote-posted TeamYouTube's response, calling for Shelesh to be deplatformed once again.

"I've sent video evidence to the appropriate channels and am happy to share directly with you," he said. "This is a clear example of doxxing and a clear violation of your policy stated here."

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He added he was aware YouTube was "looking into" the situation, but "this is a black-and-white case that holds dangerous implications if it goes unchecked."

"Please act now and remove this channel from your platform," he said.

YouTube's X account also posted something that many thought to be a thinly-veiled joke about the whole situation.

"Would it be too meta to do a reaction video to a reaction video," a post from October 18 reads, which many interpreted as a reference to Shelesh's controversial "reaction" content.

The post generated a huge backlash from those who thought YouTube was making light of a dangerous situation. Several large creators also got involved.

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"Well now this is just dumb," replied Seán McLoughlin, better known as gaming YouTuber Jacksepticeye who has 30 million subscribers.

YouTube reporter Philip DeFranco also responded with sarcasm when he shared YouTube's post.

"Just as a silly silly fun goof yall should react to this video," he said.

Insider has reached out to Douglass for comment.

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