YouTubers are campaigning to deplatform an influencer over eating disorder concerns. Experts say that won't fix the problem.

• Several creators are asking YouTube to restrict influencer Eugenia Cooney's content.
• Cooney has millions of subscribers but is controversial because of her appearance.
• Her critics argue that her videos could be harmful, though YouTube has maintained support for her.
• Warning: This story discusses eating disorders, and the content and images could be triggering or disturbing to some readers.

Artist and mental health advocate Lily Rose Mills has set up a petition with the support of popular YouTubers Jaclyn Glenn (829,000 subscribers) and Pastel Belle (41,000 subscribers) to age-restrict, or entirely remove, the channel and social media profiles of creator Eugenia Cooney.

Cooney, 26, started out on YouTube in 2011 with vlogs about her daily routines, makeup tutorials, and cosplay outfits. She's been a popular creator since then, building a following of over 2 million with whom she usually communicates while streaming games on Twitch several times a week.

But Cooney also receives a lot of criticism from people who believe her videos could be promoting eating disorders, just through her appearance alone. In 2019, Cooney spoke about receiving treatment for an eating disorder after several years of intense speculation online. Onlookers have raised concern once again around Cooney's physical appearance, despite no explicit mention of anything eating-related in her content.

In one recent upload, Cooney gave her 2.2 million subscribers gift ideas for Christmas, including stress balls, desk lights, and plushies. It was about as innocuous you can get for a video topic, but the vast majority of commenters weren't interested in her haul, they were pleading with her to get help.

Read more: An extremely thin YouTube star disappeared from the internet, but people with eating disorders are still getting 'thinspiration' from her videos

Several petitions have been set up over Cooney's career to remove or restrict her content, but none have been successful. The latest one calls on YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram to temporarily remove her accounts so she can seek "the help that she so desperately needs," and has received over 41,000 signatures so far.

The petition touches on an uncomfortable situation facing online platforms.

While they've largely tried to address their unsavory history of hosting pro-eating-disorder communities by removing content with #proana (pro-anorexia) of #thinspiration hashtags, for example, they've also fostered an environment where people with mental health issues can find support and community. But as body positivity is openly encouraged on the platform, it raises the question of whether there are situations where YouTube should step in if a creator's appearance could influence a young audience, or if that would be fundamentally discriminatory.

Eugenia Cooney disappeared from the internet for 5 months in 2019

In Cooney's many years as a content creator, she's faced consistent scrutiny around her appearance, though one video, in particular, caught the attention of many commentators and some of YouTube's biggest creators.

She disappeared from the internet after tweeting in February 2019 that she was working on her health with a doctor. Five months later, she returned and spoke for the first time about having an eating disorder in a documentary by fellow YouTuber Shane Dawson. She said she'd been in a treatment center for one month after being put on a 5150 - a mandatory 72-hour psychiatric hold - when reported to mental health professionals by her friends.

Cooney was originally praised for her strength in returning to a platform that seemed to have done her harm in the past. But the positivity didn't last.

Over the proceeding months, there was a growing chorus of uneasiness speculating about Cooney's health. Among certain creators, the concern for Cooney morphed into concern over what her image may be promoting.

There are many influencers who have shared what it's like to live with an eating disorder

There are many influencers on nearly every social media platform who have shared their eating disorder recovery journeys, such as Gina Susanna, who has a detailed disclaimer in her videos noting that her content is for educational purposes only.

Josi Maria, an influencer from Kiel in Germany, died at the age of 24 in December 2020. She was very open about having an eating disorder and made clear statements that she was not trying to encourage her fans to look like her.

Belle, who is in recovery from an eating disorder herself and is a co-author of the petition to restrict Cooney's channel, said if Cooney was acknowledging her perceived condition, she wouldn't have a problem with her videos at all.

"If she was saying things aren't perfect right now, I am sick, but I'm working on it, and if she was actively working on it and promoting recovery and mental health, I think that would be amazing," she said. Cooney, however, has not made any mention of an eating disorder part of her regular content.

Representatives for Cooney declined to comment for this article.

Social media platforms have made an effort to remove content that glorifies eating disorders

Platforms have made efforts in the past to remove content that glorifies or promotes eating disorders, such as videos that include "thinspo" or "pro-ana" messages. Tumblr and Instagram will ask if you need support if you search for terms like these.

But Cooney's content doesn't fall into this category and is remarkably neutral in messaging. Her critics argue that in her videos and thumbnails she shows her body and collarbones, which they say could encourage eating disorders among viewers. Of course, plenty of other YouTubers and influencers show their bodies with no moderation at all.

For social media platforms, moderation of her content based on her appearance alone could be considered anti-body-positive and potentially discriminatory. Commentary videos discussing her, however, are often demonetized or restricted for containing "sensitive" content.

Representatives for YouTube and Instagram told Insider Cooney's content does not violate any terms of service. A Twitch representative did not respond before publication.

Dr. Carolyn Coker Ross, an expert in eating disorders and addictions, and the CEO of an online coaching program for food and body image issues called The Anchor Program, told Insider there has been a long history of stigma and bias about larger body types, so we should not fall into the trap of assuming someone is unhealthy because they look a certain way.

"You wouldn't want to stigmatize someone just because they're thin," she said.

YouTuber and licensed professional counselor of mental health Todd Grande, PhD, agreed, telling Insider that Cooney hasn't done anything wrong, and thus it could be a harmful precedent to remove her videos.

While Grande and Coker Ross warned against making assumptions based on someone's appearance, the experts Insider spoke to also pointed out that online figures can have a large impact on their fan base - especially young viewers.

Coker Ross said young people are inundated with images of ideals and perfection from the minute they wake up in the morning, crafting in their minds who and what they should and should not be, and the stars they spend a lot of time watching are only going to fuel those beliefs.

Clinical psychologist Thomas Italiano, PsyD, who has specialized in eating disorders, told Insider that young people will inevitably compare themselves to their favorite streamers and vloggers. This is particularly true when they hit puberty and their bodies start changing, he said.

"It's very dangerous, the exposure to a role model that seems to convey that it's normal to be severely underweight," Italiano said. "They will attach their own values of worth and self-esteem to the idea of looking a certain way. And therefore should they fail to live up to those expectations, then they will probably think they are not worth much."

Cooney's images appear in pro-ana communities as 'thinspiration'

Insider has seen two unlisted videos where Cooney's teenage fans have copied her mannerisms by checking their bodies in the camera, and collected screenshots of fans on Cooney's now-deleted Discord server, Twitch streams, and Instagram posts telling her they want to look like her. Young girls on Pinterest and Tumblr with usernames such as "Lets Get Thin" also post Cooney's photos on their pro-ana pages as "thinspiration" and say they want to be "Eugenia Cooney skinny."

When Cooney is asked about her wellbeing on livestreams, she denies that she is influencing young people to look like her.

"I'm not doing anything to my fans and young audience, but I'm sorry you feel that way," Cooney said in a recent livestream in response to a viewer who said they could no longer watch her because they found her content triggering. "That's fine, you don't have to. You don't know if I'm doing OK or not."

One former fan of Cooney (who asked to remain anonymous because of fear of reprisal from Cooney's fans, but whose identity is known to Insider) said she used to watch her multiple-hour-long livestreams to "starve" along with her in 2014 through 2015 - Cooney streams for 6 or 7 hours at a time, and is rarely ever seen even drinking water on camera.

Whenever this former fan has publicly spoken about her concerns, she said Cooney's fans will send her hate mail, calling her a "fat-a-- piece of s---" who's "jealous of Eugenia." Insider has seen screenshots of these messages and others.

"The people in Eugenia's community who defend her, they say she's not doing anything wrong - she's perfectly fine and healthy," the former fan said. "They say she's beautiful and perfect the way she is. They're the physical manifestations of someone's ED voice and it's disturbing."

Cooney's critics may be hurting more than helping

While Cooney's videos receive countless comments asking her to get help, and the petition is ostensibly out of concern for Cooney and others on YouTube, Italiano said they could be doing more harm than good.

Even the best-intended messages - positive or negative - can have adverse effects on someone with a mental health issue such as an eating disorder, according to Italiano. The messages of support can reinforce the idea nothing is wrong, while the criticisms can act as a confirmation of someone's worst ideas about themselves.

"It's very hard to connect with a sense of care in those messages," he said. "Because ultimately if you are in a place where your self-esteem is low, you doubt yourself, and someone is telling you to change or that you look unwell, that might come across as more of an attack."

Read more: Do I have anorexia? How to recognize the signs and get proper treatment

Cooney responded to the petition with a couple of cryptic memes on her Instagram story about cutting out "bad people," and a statement on her Twitter account.

"It's sad that some people are so devoted to trying to bring others down that they go as far as to spread petitions to take someone off the internet and try to disguise it as doing something good when they are really just filled with hate and jealousy," she said. "Rather than attacking and finding problems with others, some people should focus on their own issues."

Belle said she would love to see Cooney come back as an influential figure who is open about her perceived condition, but right now, she believes something needs to change.

"We're not trying to cancel her, we're trying to get her off temporarily so she can hopefully focus on getting treatment," she said. "Obviously no one can force her to, but I think that's the best option."