YT stars and Riverdale? Nothing better.

“I would fake my drug test with other people’s pee and lie straight to people’s faces.”

Okay, I just finished all 78 minutes and 11 seconds of Demi Lovato's new YouTube documentary Simply Complicated and, honey, I have chills.

I was expecting the "Sorry Not Sorry" singer to divulge some minor details about her personal life, but I was given so much more!

Emma Mcintyre / Getty Images

She thoroughly paints pictures of painful childhood memories, drug addiction, romantic relationships, and the people and incidents that transformed her into the powerful woman she is today.

Mike Coppola / Getty Images

Demi was 17 years old and working on the Disney Channel the first time she used cocaine.

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

She revealed part of the reason for her drug use was because of her biological father's addictions.

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

The 25-year-old singer began having dark thoughts at a very young age.

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

According to Demi, she punched her back up dancer Shorty, as a result of Shorty snitching on Demi for using Adderall irresponsibly.

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

She entered her first treatment center at the age of 18, but would still "sneak [drugs] on planes, in bathrooms, at night...nobody knew."

"I just knew I needed to be high to get through what I was going through."

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

While she was a judge on The X Factor, she was 19 years old and entering her first year of sobriety. She was also living in a completely sober house with no phone.

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

Demi believes she will always love her ex-boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama.

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

And although the breakup was mutual, Demi knew she still had issues to conquer and she couldn't do that while "relying on someone to take care of the loneliness."

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

She also revealed times during her childhood when she was bullied, including when a classmate started a suicide petition directed at Demi and made people sign it.

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

Demi internalized the words they were calling her, like "whore" and "fat." Shortly after, her battle with food began.

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

But she's been able to find ways to channel her frustrations and tackle her demons, like through exercise...

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

...and dating! Demi's currently using the dating app Raya.

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

She also doesn't buy into the stigma surrounding women and casual sex. Demi believes women should be able to do whatever they want with their bodies.

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

And like the rest of the world, sometimes she gets caught up in the "rules" of dating.

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

But despite all the obstacles she's conquered, Demi's just getting started! And we're excited to take this journey of growth with her.

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

You can watch Demi's full documentary, Simply Complicated, below:

Phillymack Productions / Via youtube.com

It’s harder than you think.

Living in luxury.

Sen. Al Franken buries his head in his hands after an exchange with Facebook General Counsel Colin Stretch.

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

In a Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday afternoon, lawyers from Facebook, Google and Twitter testified under oath about Russian manipulation of their platforms during the 2016 election. The lawyers confessed their companies’ shortcomings, promised fixes, and told senators they were taking the issue extremely, extremely seriously.

But while delivering these statements, they did something else even more critical: they made clear how susceptible their companies are to future attacks on US democracy.

Throughout the hearing, the companies struggled to persuade senators that they could effectively monitor platforms of their size. Facebook was hammered by Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, a freshman Republican, in a series of questions about whether it can effectively monitor the 5 million advertisers spending money on the platform each month.

“I’m trying to get us down from ‘lala land,’” Kennedy said. “The truth of the matter is you have 5 million advertisers, they change every month, every minute, probably every second — you don’t have the ability to know who every one of those advertisers is, do you?”

In describing their policies, the platforms didn’t bear much better with senators’ questions.

Foreign agents using their real names on Facebook can try to cause chaos as long as they’re acting within Facebook’s rules, Facebook General Counsel Colin Stretch’s testimony revealed. “It wasn’t so much the content — although to be clear much of that content is offensive and has no place on Facebook — but the real problem with what we saw was its lack of authenticity,” Stretch said. If Kremlin agents used real accounts and abide by the platform’s rules, that implied, they could go ahead and post away.

In its testimony, Twitter made clear it doesn’t have a good response to block shell companies looking to manipulate elections from advertising on its platform. When Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse asked the company how it would prevent a lawful corporation called “Americans for Puppies and Prosperity” from trying to swing elections on behalf of a special interest or a foreign power, Twitter acting General Counsel Sean Edgett didn’t have an answer.

“I think that’s a problem,” Edgett said, explaining Twitter is continuing to look into “how do you get to know your client.”

And when Google was asked about whether it viewed itself as a media or technology company — a question getting at whether it feels a sense of responsibility for the news on its platform — it went straight for the “don’t blame us” answer. "We are not a newspaper," Google Director of Law Enforcement and Information Security Richard Salgado said.

The platforms’ inability to monitor themselves was poked at by senators throughout the day. Minnesota Sen. Al Franken ranted against Facebook, noting how slow it was to release its findings about a $100,000 ad buy on its platform by a Kremlin-linked agency seeking to disrupt US politics. “How did Facebook, which prides itself on being able to process billions of data points and instantly transform them into personal connections for its users, somehow not make the connection that election ads, paid for in rubles, were coming from Russia?” he said. “Those are two data points: American political ads and Russian money, rubles. How could you not connect those two dots?”

At the outset of the hearing, Senator Lindsey Graham asked, “The challenge of this hearing, and of this focus, is how do we keep the good and deal with the bad?” When the hearing ended, the answer seemed as unattainable as ever.

Kris, you’re doing amazing sweetie.

Everyone knows Kris Jenner is a frickin' BOSS who popped out five badass ladies and helped turn them into the most powerful family in show business — despite the fact they don't sing, they don't act, and they don't write. That, my friends, is truly iconic.

instagram.com / Via @kimkardashian

But even mogul moms need to shop for a bargain every now and then. So when Ellen had Kris shop at the 99 Cents Only Store while she directed her through an earpiece, you *KNEW* it was going to be amazing. And our ladies didn't disappoint:

youtube.com

The segment had EVERYTHING you could possibly want and more, from Kris Jenner announcing her presence to the cashier...

youtube.com

...Kris laughing maniacally...

youtube.com

...asking insane party questions...

youtube.com

...putting on a $4.99 robe...

youtube.com

...asking the cashier if she'd like to be on her family's show...

youtube.com

...and even MORE deranged laughter.

youtube.com

Um...can we get a full series of Ellen and Kris going around the country pranking people? Thank you in advance!

E!

This is what you came for.

Like and subscribe!

Linda Huang for BuzzFeed News

At the bar late last Thursday, a person wearing glasses with a built-in video camera filmed me and posted it to YouTube. By the time the video was forwarded to me — by my acquaintance Ronnie, who sent it to me with a “;-)” as the subject line — the video had 2,494 thumbs-up votes and 1,910 thumbs-down. Unfortunately, it was going a little bit viral.

I could see why it attracted viewers: The image was startling. I was an average-looking Asian woman with blunt, neat, healthy-looking hair and carefully applied makeup, save for the mascara that was starting to run. First I was doing tequila shots with the mariachi group, three men in sombreros still strapped to their instruments, and by the time they started playing again, only a moment later, I had peeled off my J.Crew blouse and was waving it over my head like a helicopter. One breast was popping slightly out of my bra, but not so far out that it was inappropriate for YouTube. I didn’t remember any of this, so it was interesting to see that portion of the night handed back to me like a gift.

I didn’t remember any of this, so it was interesting to see that portion of the night handed back to me like a gift.

“What a psycho,” one of the comments said. “*You’re* a psycho,” I responded. A not-great comeback, but I wrote it feverishly, angry. I looked at the comments he’d posted on other videos. He seemed like a career troll. Others commented on how attractive I was; I voted those comments up. There were comments bemoaning glasses with built-in video cameras. In support of those, I replied, “Down with tech!”

It wasn’t something I did often — go to bars alone. That this rare occurrence had been filmed was bad luck. Earlier that night, I’d texted my friends Davy and Rita but received no response, leading me to suspect they were together — and why shouldn’t they be? Davy had been Harry’s friend and Rita had been mine, and I was happy for them, though I hoped they weren’t hanging out with Harry and his new wife. In the Mission District, bodies were crammed into restaurants and bars and everyone seemed screamy and happy. Going to a bar alone was something a man would do, I figured. So I walked into a Latin American–themed dive on 22nd Street, sat at the corner of the bar, and ordered a margarita, a drink known to be particularly strong here.

While I was savoring that first margarita, a wiry man sat down next to me. He wasn’t an attractive man. His crusty-looking left eye was glued shut with eye goop. He sat quietly in the seat right beside me instead of leaving one seat as buffer, even though plenty of seats were available. I tried to talk myself out of my own discomfort; the discomfort was unwarranted — based on his external appearance only and nothing he had done. He drank from a glass filled to the brim with neat well whiskey, decidedly not hitting on me. I wondered if it looked to other people in the bar like we were together. I found myself wishing he wasn’t there, so somebody more attractive would notice me alone and buy me a drink. Then I felt embarrassed at how conventional that desire was. This was what I had wanted, I reminded myself — to have a drink at a bar like a man, unnoticed and unbothered. I felt ashamed that I’d only been considering myself — what was his story? How had he gotten here, and what did he need? Maybe I could buy him a drink. The margarita was beginning to do its work. I turned to him.

“How long have you been in San Francisco?” I asked, with a friendly smile.

The man said nothing. Instead he stood up, picked up his things — a plastic bag that bulged with a big brown coat — and he looked at me with hate roiling in his one open eye.

“Fuck you, bitch,” he muttered.

“Me?” I replied, incredulous. I looked around — no other bitches in the vicinity.

“Yeah,” he said, grabbing his coat and flannel scarf. “Fucking bitch.” He stormed out of the swinging doors.

I didn’t understand what had just happened or why, but I felt guilty about it.

“Want another?” asked the baby-faced bartender, unruffled, collecting my glass. He had the air of a guitarist in a band.

“Sure,” I said.

I blacked out after the fourth margarita. In the morning I found a bucket next to my bed and a little trail of hardened vomit on my pillow. Had I eaten corn? It appeared I had. My roommate left a note on the nightstand that said, “Hope you’re alive.”

Financially, I didn’t need a roommate, but the house was big and I figured this was a way to help with the city’s housing crisis. The rent I charged Mina was modest, and she worked as a waitress — she was hardly ever home. The arrangement worked well for both of us. I wondered what would have happened had I died. I didn’t have a will.

“Siri,” I said to my phone. “Remind me to write a will.”

“Siri,” I said to my phone. “Remind me to write a will.”

“Okay,” Siri replied. “I’ll remind you to write a will.”

At my regular café, the barista seemed to be holding back a smile. Right away, I understood: He’d seen the video. He handed me my latte without looking at me, and went to work on another drink, even though there was no one behind me in line.

“Hey, I know you,” said a lean thirtysomething man, glancing up from his laptop.

“I come here every day,” I said.

“No, no. You’re—” and then he started make a helicopter motion above his head.

When the city starts feeling like too much — too many bodies, too many vehicles, too much pressure — I drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to my cabin in the Redwoods, in a town called Guerneville, near the Russian River. I bought the house in 2009, right after the subprime mortgage crisis. It had been foreclosed on. So had my home in San Francisco. Even then, the house in the city was 10 times the amount I had paid for the cabin. It was an absurd figure, but nothing I couldn’t afford. I had been an early investor in a popular social networking site — I dated its founder during my freshman year, when he was at Harvard and I was at Boston College and we met at a bubble tea café — and that had worked out for me. So when I commented “Down with tech!” — which I did often and also sometimes scrawled in pen in dive-bar bathrooms — I did so in a conflicted way.

Occasionally I still see him around the city with his wife. We’re friendly. But his wife — let’s call her Pamela — doesn’t like me, I can tell. Seeing me reminds her that her husband — let’s call him Matt — had an Asian girlfriend before her. I wouldn’t like it, either. Seeing me, I think, reminds her that maybe how we look is just what he’s into — that we might belong to a type. That, if not her, he’d be with someone else like her.

There were many acceptable reasons to flee the city, in my view: running into my ex Harry; having an unsettling encounter; a YouTube video of me going viral. It was high time. I got into my car, a junky little Nissan hatchback that was at home up in West County and stood out against the Minis and Teslas in San Francisco, and opened the garage door by saying, “You little piece of shit.”

There were many acceptable reasons to flee the city, in my view: running into my ex Harry; having an unsettling encounter; a YouTube video of me going viral.

I’d let Mina set all the voice commands in my house. She’s a poet so I figured she would decide on some interesting turns of phrases. She went in a direction I didn’t foresee. We turned the living room lights on with “Go to hell.” If you didn’t know the codes you couldn’t turn on the heat or lights, which made us laugh.

The garage door opened on my command and I carefully backed my car down my steep and narrow driveway. There was a school nearby with kids always running around like chickens and it was my greatest fear to run over a pedestrian, especially a young one. My second greatest fear was to have to kill someone. Even in self-defense, it seemed terrible.

I turned on a podcast and settled in for the drive. Getting out of the city was always a congested ordeal, buses sighing and merging with abandon up and down Van Ness, but once I got across the Golden Gate Bridge I always felt relief. The podcast was about a serial killer who had found love in prison. The podcast’s host had the nasal, nerdy voice of all male podcast hosts. It was a voice that had become commonplace, and it was one I found puzzling — I wondered if years into the future, we would hear these male podcast–host voices and think they sounded as retro as Edward Morrow’s.

Once I exited River Road and the redwood trees came into view, I felt even better. The air here seemed easier to breathe even though I knew it wasn’t — in fact it was probably teeming with mold spores from ancient trees. I passed the vineyards and little inns whose rooms were booked by techies. It had been raining, so the Russian River looked like it was a boiling brown stew. When I pulled the car up to my little house, I felt myself filling with relief.

I extracted the key from its hiding spot beneath a large stone, then let myself in and inhaled. The house smelled woody but fine. The cabin is very rustic and not sealed well, so sometimes mice will find their way inside and not be able to find their way out. A few months ago I’d stepped into the cabin and smelled something afoul: Inside the kitchen trash can was what looked like fur. There were also what looked like strings, until I realized: tails. The wads were dead, decomposing mice. I put on rubber gloves and took the bin outside, and turned it over. Unfortunately the mice seemed to be stuck so I smacked the overturned bin to release their small bodies. They fell out, or seemed to, but when I looked inside their tiny feet were still stuck to the bottom of the trashcan. I turned on the hose, filled the trash can with water, and hoped for the best. It did not work. In the end I’d closed my eyes and had to scrape the feet out with a tree branch.

So now I always checked the trash can first. No mice. I put the groceries away in the fridge, sprawled out on the couch, and read the four New Yorker magazines from last month. Occasionally my mind drifted back to the YouTube video. I would catch myself, turn some music on, and attempt some home improvement, like caulking the baseboards. Harry had helped with the renovation, but now the house was falling again into disrepair. Periodically, for exercise, I erupted in jumping jacks.

I brushed my teeth in the kitchen sink, sat naked by the woodstove, danced to some records, tried to drink just enough wine — but not too much — so that I wouldn’t feel scared at night, alone. I often wondered what would happen if somebody broke into my cabin with the intent of killing me. I decided I would probably die. I knew I was more scared to kill someone in self-defense than to just get stabbed or shot. Giving up seemed easier, I sometimes thought.

Giving up seemed easier, I sometimes thought.

Outside, it started to pour. As the rain came down, it hit the roof like a truckful of candy corn being unloaded. Through the window I could see thin branches snapping cleanly off tree trunks. I no longer felt relaxed. I drank more wine. A hulking redwood next to the cabin worried me particularly, and I suspected that one day during a storm, it would fall on the house with me in it.

In the morning, I called Kate, who cut my trees for me. When she arrived, she was wearing a bandana around her neck and sunglasses so reflective they showed my own face in them. I couldn’t look for long.

“Can’t you just cut this one down?” I asked. I gestured at the towering redwood a few feet from my house.

“That tree is almost a thousand years old,” she said, aghast.

“What if I pay you $2,000 to do it?” I asked. I knew she needed the money.

“Fine,” she said. “I don’t like it, but I’ll do it.” She shook her head, pained.

“Are people always asking you if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

“Yes,” she said, curtly.

“You wouldn’t want me to be crushed, would you?”

“You have home insurance and you’re hardly ever here,” she said.

Grudgingly, she climbed up the tree. She did this with a strap around the tree and her body, making her way up monkeylike; though I wondered how many monkeys had ever climbed redwoods, which only grew, as far as I knew, in California and Japan. With a chainsaw, Kate cut the tree down in pieces. The giant discs of tree trunk came down one at a time. Slice, slice, slice. Each disc was big enough to crush a toddler. It was sad, I had to agree. Still, I wanted her to keep going.

Back in San Francisco, the house felt as though it had changed, subtly. I wondered if Mina had had a party. In fact, I often wondered what she did while I was gone. I’d considered installing a surveillance camera to satisfy my curiosity but decided it was unethical — I imagined someone watching what I did alone at the cabin and shuddered at the thought.

There was no internet at the cabin and my inbox had filled up over the weekend. People were coming out of the woodwork to email or message me because of the YouTube video. I was surprised at who was sending the messages: Many of them were people I had met only once or never in real life. A college acquaintance named Tim Facebook-messaged me and asked if I wanted to meet up sometime. He lived not far from me, in Palo Alto. He wouldn’t mind coming up to the city — he sometimes came here for meetings. I’d always found him pleasant to talk to, and attractive, so I messaged him back. We decided to get drinks in the city.

“Not too many,” he added. “Haha.”

“Fuck you, Tim,” I muttered, but typed, “Haha.”

“Fuck you, Tim,” I muttered, but typed, “Haha.”

The bar in SoMa where we met was wholly unlike the bar where the video had been filmed. Here, the ceilings were high and the walls were white, without art, and the drinks cost triple what they had at the Latin-themed bar. Regrettably, the drinks also contained far less alcohol.

We discussed the 10 years that had passed since college. He was a lawyer; now he was “in tech, like everyone else” — doing tech law. He’d taken a year off after undergrad to travel; he landed in Nepal and hung out with goat farmers. This experience was “life-changing.” After that was law school in New Haven, then Denver with his girlfriend — it was where her family was from — then marriage. Had I seen their Vows column in the Times? he wanted to know. I had not.

A long silence passed between us. I sipped my too-expensive drink and waited for Tim to tell me more. This was 10 years we were catching up on, after all. But he appeared to have nothing further to say and looked at me expectantly.

I told him that these days I was doing a little bit of freelance consulting. My clients were people who wanted to open bakeries. I had, for a few years, run my own extremely trendy bakery, the kind that people lined up for, even though I couldn’t comprehend it personally. In fact, I found it absurd. Sometimes I wanted to shake those people, with their extraordinary patience, and say to them, “What the hell are you thinking? It’s just food.” Eventually I came to terms with it: If these strangers chose to stand in my bakery line and grow older here, right before my and one another’s eyes, waiting for cupcakes, so be it. I could not let that be my problem.

The bakery belonged to me and Harry, who was my husband at the time. Harry was the baker, but I’d had some good ideas too. One morning in bed, I came up with the idea for the thing that everybody would eventually come to photograph and put on social media: a cupcake that was swirled with green food coloring and had a soft-boiled egg baked inside. We called it the Dragon’s Eye. When you cut into the cupcake, and the two halves came apart, the yolk would flow out of the soft-boiled egg and ooze onto the plate. That was the money shot. Our bakery had big windows and a lot of natural light flowing in — no filter was ever necessary. When we split, Harry got the bakery. He’d gone on to do well for himself: He opened two other branches.

But that chapter of my life was over, I found myself saying to Tim. I cringed, then wondered if he’d noticed. I couldn’t believe I had said that out loud — “chapter of my life.” That would mean I believed that life had chapters, which could be wrapped up neatly, like a book. My discomfort was causing me to say things I didn’t mean. There was nothing to do now but ramble onward, I supposed. I told him about my cabin. He said it sounded cute. I asked if he had been up to that area, and he said, no, only Napa. We sipped our drinks.

“Another round?” Tim asked. Did he not know how boring this was?

“Why not,” I agreed.

Tim ordered us another round.

This was a terrible question to ask a woman, but I forgave him, because he was hot.

“Do you think you want kids?” Tim asked, out of nowhere. This was a terrible question to ask a woman, but I forgave him, because he was hot. I pretended he had asked, “Do you want me to put a baby in you?”

“Sure,” I said. “Someday.”

He used that as an opportunity to talk about the baby that he and his wife were having soon. They were planning to give birth at home. They weren’t hippies or anything like that — they were a far cry from that, he said and laughed — but it seemed to them the best option.

“What do you think?” he asked. “Do you think it’s a good idea?”

I couldn’t believe he was asking me this. What was the purpose of asking me, a totally uneducated person on the subject, this?

“I’d like being at home,” I responded, stupidly.

We continued to sip our drinks. He asked more inane questions that I fielded by pretending they were more interesting questions. “What do you like to do for fun?” became “What do you like to do for fun while naked?” and “Do you ever still talk to Harry?” — they’d known each other in college — became “Do you ever fantasize about breaking into Harry’s house in Sausalito and cutting a toe off his new wife, and getting away with it?” The answers were yoga and cleaning and yes, absolutely.

The drinks were now finished. I kept pouring ice into my mouth to suck any clinging alcohol off of it. He started to stand up, to reach for his coat. I was still sitting.

“Do you want to have an affair?” I blurted out.

“Do you want to have an affair?” I blurted out.

父親が運営するYouTubeチャンネルは、娘たちが恐怖で叫び声をあげたり、食べ物を吐き出したり、おもらしや入浴する姿を映したもので、削除前は800万人にチャンネル登録されていた。警告：この記事には不快な映像が含まれています。

あるシングルファーザーが、大人気のYouTubeチャンネルを作成した。それは、娘たちが恐怖で叫び声をあげるところや、入浴するところ、赤ちゃんのふりをしたり、食べ物を吐き出し、あるいは詰め込まれたりするところ、排尿するところなどを映したもので、数百万人がその動画を視聴した。

Toy Freaks

「当社は最近、これらの方針を厳しく実行に移すこととし、未成年者を扱ったコンテンツで懸念があるという知らせを受けたものについて対処しています。投稿者が当社の規則を意図して違反しているかどうかわからないこともありますが、それでも当社としては、視聴者や投稿者、子どもたちを保護する目的でそのような動画を削除する場合があります。当社の方針に違反するものとして、Toy Freaksチャンネルを削除しました。当社は今後も、専門のTrusted Flaggerたちと協力して、関連コンテンツを幅広く調査していきます」

Chismによるその他2つチャンネルも24日現在、視聴できなくなっている。「Freak World」のホームページには「このチャンネルにはコンテンツがありません」と表示され、「Freak Family Vlogs」チャンネルはすでに存在していない。

Freak World / Via youtube.com

プラットフォームから削除される前に、BuzzFeed Newsは動画をダウンロードしていた。少なくとも2つの動画で、Chismは娘のAnnabelleとVictoriaが入浴中のバスルームに歩いて行き、生き物を使って怖がらせている。

彼は娘たちに、サプライズがあるけど見たいか、と聞く。

「見たくない」と、上ずった声でAnnabelleは答える。

そして、バケツが湯船に近づくと、Annabelleはもう一度「やめて」と言い、後ずさりする。「やめてよパパ、ストップ！」と叫ぶ。

彼女は湯船のふちに乗って、叫び続ける。再び「パパ、やめて！」と大声で言い、泣き始める。

父親はその生き物を取り除き、「汚いカエルだよ」と言った。その後も、父親は「お前、びびってたな」などと罵っている。

Toy Freaks

同様に、父親は娘たちが入浴中のバスルームに違う生き物を連れて行く。バスルームに入る前、彼はロブスターを持ち上げ、こう言う。「浴槽で遊んでいる時、娘たちは、私が何かを持ってやってくるだろうと思っているはずだ。でも、今回はヘビやカエルじゃないんだ」 父親がバスルームのドアに近づくと、Annabelleは姉の背後に隠れる。「出て行って！ 出て行ってよ！」と、娘たちはパニック状態になる。父親がその生き物を娘たちに見せると、Annabelleは叫び声をあげる。

Toy Freaks

Toy Freaksの動画の多くで、 Chismと娘たちは赤ちゃんのようなコスプレをしている。そして、「赤ちゃん」のふりをして、食べ物を吐き出したり、おもらしをしたりする。

ある動画では、Annabelleが姉にベビーフードだと言われ食べたものを、吐き出すと咳き込んでしまう。

スプーンで妹に食べ物を与えると、「私たち、水が要るよ」と Victoriaが言う。

Toy Freaks

動画には、Victoriaの背中の上の方に、食べ物を吐き出す描写も。さらに、Annabelleが Victoriaの上で「オシッコ」をし、カメラは彼女の下半身の濡れた部分にズームインしている。

Toy Freaks

「11月16日、YouTubeはKidsアプリとコミュニティガイドラインを更新し、親による規制と報告機能が強化されました」と彼は言った。「その日、知らないうちにKidsアプリに投稿されていた私たちの動画3本がコミュニティからの報告を受け、結果Toy Freaksチャンネルは削除されました」

Chismの代弁者は、BuzzFeed Newsに対して、Chismの他のチャンネルも彼自身が用心のため削除した、と語った。

「Toy Freaksチャンネルについての懸念があるため、少なくとも当面の間は、他のチャンネルも停止したほうが良いと（Chismは）考えたのです」と彼は言った。

アメリカの週刊誌Varietyによると、Chismは「自分の動画が、子どもの利益が最優先という考えを持っていない視聴者を引きつけているのでは、という懸念」をYouTubeが彼に伝えたということだ。

「VictoriaもAnnabelleも私も、サポーターの皆さんに感謝したいと思っています。この数年間、娘たちの創造力や自信を育む機会を持てたんですから」と、彼は言う。「娘たちの未来は明るい。私たちのコメディ動画で誰かが不適切な喜びを感じるのは私にとって不快なことです。しかし、YouTubeの私たち家族に対する心遣いには深く感謝していますし、このような素晴らしい経験ができたことはこの上ない幸せだと感じています」

この家族の人気が高まるにつれて、多くの動画が登場した。この家族によく似た人物が登場するアニメのファン動画は、YouTubeで非常に多く視聴されている。「Toy Cartoon」というチャンネルが7月に投稿したこの動画は、500,000回以上視聴されているが、Victoriaが父親に向かって「オシッコ」をしているというものだ。

このチャンネル内の似たような動画は、900万人以上が視聴した。

20日はどちらの動画もYouTube上で確認でたが、21日の朝には削除されている。それらの動画に似た他の動画はまだ存在している。

Toy Cartoon / Via youtube.com

Toy Freaksの家族が赤ちゃんの真似をする動画は、20日までYouTube上に存在していた。このスクリーンショットは、10月に「hand some」チャンネルが投稿した映像からのものだ。21日までに、この動画は削除された。

hand some / Via youtube.com

2015年1月にYouTubeに投稿されたインタビューで、Chismは自分について4歳と6歳の2人の娘を持つシングルファーザーだと語っていた。

同じ年の別のインタビューでは、ChismはToy Freaksの始まりについてこう語っている。

「単なる家族動画でした。子どもたちと動画を撮影し投稿する、単なる家族ビデオのようなものです。リビングでおもちゃで遊んでいるところとか、なんでも」

「パターンを調べ始めたんです、この動画は別の動画より視聴者数が多いとか」

「それで傾向を調べることに集中し、各動画の説明文、タイトル、タグ、その動画作成に関わるもの全て、なぜその動画が人気なのかを分析しました。そして、自分もそのとおりにしたんです。それについてはラッキーな部分もありました」とChism。

そのインタビューで彼は、自分の動画の1つが急速に広まったと語った。「それで少しばかりお金が入ったんです」

下の動画も24日現在削除されていた。「Toys AndMe」チャンネルによるもので、7,700万回視聴された。

Toys AndMe / Via youtube.com

また、「Sis vs Bro」チャンネルが投稿したこちらは、「BAD BABY RONALD GROWS BIG（困った赤ちゃんRONALDが大きくなった）!!!!!」というタイトルのもの。

SIS vs BRO / Via youtube.com

この記事は英語から翻訳・編集しました。

C'est une tendance troublante qui s'est développée sur YouTube : des comptes publient des vidéos clairement dérangeantes qui exploitent les enfants. Ils sont filmés dans des situations compromettantes, prédatrices ou tout à fait effrayantes. Ces vidéos amassent des millions de vues.

BuzzFeed News a identifié un certain nombre de vidéos — dont beaucoup semblent provenir d'Europe de l'Est — avec de jeunes enfants souvent habillés de façon suggestive, dans des scénarios les rendant vulnérables. Ils sont, dans de nombreux cas, immobilisés avec des cordes ou du papier adhésif, parfois en train de pleurer ou manifestement en détresse. Dans d'autres vidéos, les enfants sont kidnappés ou forcés de «jouer au docteur» avec un adulte. Les vidéos abordent souvent des thèmes dérangeants, comme les piqûres d'insecte, la coprophagie (le fait de manger des excréments) ou les aiguilles. Beaucoup proviennent de chaînes YouTube «vérifiées» et enregistrent des dizaines de millions de vues. Après que BuzzFeed News a porté ces vidéos à l'attention de YouTube, elles ont été retirées.

Au cours de l'année, YouTube a été vivement critiqué pour les vidéos d'animation inquiétantes et les contenus bizarres diffusés sur sa plateforme. Ces vidéos ciblaient des enfants en se servant de personnages d'animation comme Dora L'exploratrice ou Peppa Pig. Les vidéos examinées par BuzzFeed News comportaient pour leur part de vrais enfants «acteurs», et étaient visiblement réalisées par des adultes. Considérées dans leur ensemble, elles formaient un univers immense, inquiétant et très populaire de vidéos qui — jusqu'à récemment — échappaient aux modérateurs de la plateforme.

YouTube annonce avoir «supprimé plus de 50 chaînes»

Cela semble évoluer. Le 21 novembre, BuzzFeed News a contacté YouTube au sujet d'un certain nombre de comptes vérifiés — comptant chacun des millions d'abonnés — qui contenaient des centaines de vidéos inquiétantes montrant des enfants en détresse. À partir de mercredi matin, toutes les vidéos fournies par BuzzFeed News ainsi que les comptes ont été suspendus pour violation de la réglementation sur YouTube. YouTube a dit à BuzzFeed News que ces suppressions faisaient partie d'une démarche prévue pour combattre ce type de contenu et que l'élimination de certains des comptes et vidéos fournis par BuzzFeed News était déjà en route.

«Au cours de la semaine dernière, nous avons supprimé plus de 50 chaînes et éliminé des milliers de vidéos conformément à ces directives», a déclaré YouTube dans un communiqué. Toutes les vidéos figurant ci-dessous étaient encore présentes mardi soir.

D'après YouTube, ces suppressions font partie d'une démarche plus large visant à éliminer les vidéos qui sont produites en exploitant d'autres personnes. La semaine dernière, le site a supprimé ToyFreaks, une chaîne très populaire dirigée par Greg Chism, à cause de vidéos à la limite des sévices sur enfants. Elles montraient les filles du réalisateur hurlant de peur, se baignant, faisant semblant d'être des bébés, crachant leur nourriture, forcées de manger et «faisant pipi». Le compte avait huit millions d'abonnés au moment où YouTube l'a fermé.

Dans un article publié mercredi après-midi sur le blog du site, YouTube s'est engagé à s'attaquer au problème. À partir d'aujourd'hui, le site élimine les comptes qui, comme ToyFreaks, montrent des enfants en danger. Le site va mettre aussi des limites d'âge pour les dessins animés et les vidéos d'animation montrant des personnages appréciés par les enfants, dans des situations adultes ou bizarres.

Les chaînes incriminées avaient été vérifiées

Le site s'attaque aussi à la monétisation des vidéos qui montrent des personnages de programmes jeunesse avec des comportements violents. D'après YouTube, le site a supprimé des publicités sur trois millions de ces vidéos depuis juin. Le site prévoit aussi un nouveau système pour désactiver tous les commentaires sur les vidéos montrant des enfants exploités. D'après YouTube, si une vidéo montrant des enfants commence à être populaire avec des commentaires inappropriés, le site désactivera le fil de commentaires pour cette vidéo. Le site offrira aussi des conseils aux créateurs qui réalisent du contenu pour les familles, sous forme d'instructions écrites. Et enfin, la société a déclaré qu'elle travaillerait avec des spécialistes de la protection de l'enfance en vue de continuer à identifier les tendances inquiétantes comme celle-ci, qu'elle a laissé prospérer sur sa plate-forme pendant des années.

Beaucoup des chaînes incriminées ont même été vérifiées par YouTube — un processus qui était fait automatiquement jusqu'en 2016, selon l'entreprise. Le site déclare avoir réétudié le processus de vérification pour y ajouter une part plus importante de surveillance humaine.

Avant que YouTube ne les enlève, les vidéos qui montraient des enfants exploités étaient nombreuses et faciles à trouver. De plus, elles auraient été signalées à YouTube de longue date : Matan Uziel, producteur et militant qui gère Real Women, Real Stories, une plate-forme où les femmes peuvent raconter l'histoire de leurs traumatismes personnels comme les viols, les agressions sexuelles et le trafic sexuel, a fourni à BuzzFeed News plus de 20 exemples de telles vidéos. Il explique également avoir essayé à de nombreuses reprises d'attirer l'attention de YouTube sur ces vidéos, sans qu'aucune action concrète ne soit entreprise.

Le 22 septembre, Matan Uziel a envoyé un e-mail à la PDG de YouTube, Susan Wojcicki, et à trois autres salariés de Google ainsi qu'à des agents du FBI. Il y exprimait son inquiétude quant à des «dizaines de milliers de vidéos disponibles sur YouTube, dont on sait qu'elles sont conçues pour servir de stimulation visuelle à des adultes pervers et effrayants, des prédateurs en ligne qui fantasment sur les enfants.» Matan Uziel y joignait de nombreuses captures d'écrans de vidéos choquantes. Le militant a aussi raconté à BuzzFeed News qu'il avait exprimé son inquiétude à propos de ces vidéos lors d'une vidéoconférence cet automne avec deux responsables britanniques de la communication de Google, et que l'entreprise américaine avait exprimé le désir de s'occuper du problème. Un porte-parole de YouTube a déclaré que l'entreprise n'avait pas de trace de l'e-mail du 22 septembre, mais que Matan Uziel avait envoyé un e-mail le 13 septembre avec des captures d'écrans de vidéos choquantes. Le site dit avoir enlevé toutes les vidéos pointées par le militant.

Cette vidéo provenant du compte «Mister Tisha» montre un homme portant un masque de clown qui enlève un petit enfant et le met de force dans une machine à laver.

Comme ToyFreaks, Mister Tisha était un compte YouTube vérifié, géré par une famille qui utilisait ses enfants comme acteurs. Mardi, il avait encore 1,6 million d'abonnés.

Le compte a été supprimé par YouTube peu après que BuzzFeed News a contacté YouTube.

Une série de vidéos de Mister Tisha inclut les mots clés «Bad Baby» et font figurer un enfant désobéissant à un adulte. L'adulte est souvent représenté avec une ceinture à la main quand il découvre l'enfant.

Un autre compte YouTube vérifié, «Lady Diana», comportait des vidéos tout aussi perturbantes. D'après la page «À propos» du compte, celui-ci est dirigé par un enfant de douze ans d'Ukraine. «Lady Diana» avait plus de 1,3 million d'abonnés.

Le compte a été supprimé par YouTube peu après que BuzzFeed News a contacté YouTube.

Ces vidéos montrent des adultes dans des costumes effrayants, qui kidnappent des enfants ou font semblant de les torturer.

Dans une vidéo qui avait plus de 5,1 millions de vues, un enfant immobilisé crie pendant qu'un homme déguisé en Joker lui enduit le visage de dentifrice.

Comme certains comptes similaires, des vidéos de Lady Diana semblent avoir été monétisées. Beaucoup de vidéos — dont une appelée «Lutin coquin», qui a recueilli 8,9 millions de vues et incluait un plan fixe d'une jeune fille collée à un mur — comprenaient des publicités.

L'algorithme de recommandation de YouTube fait qu'un utilisateur qui commence à regarder des vidéos du genre se retrouvera pris dans une spirale de vidéos d'enfants exploités. Après que BuzzFeed News a visionné une série de vidéos de ce genre, YouTube a commencé à lui recommander d'autres vidéos perturbantes provenant de comptes populaires comme ToysToSee.

L'algorithme qui définit les vidéos lues en lecture automatique recommande de nombreux comptes, dont une scène récurrente où des insectes attaquent des enfants. Une des vidéos présentes a recueilli plus de 90 millions de vues.

Les vidéos de comptes moins populaires sont souvent encore plus choquantes. Certaines vidéos visionnées par BuzzFeed News montraient de très jeunes enfants jouant au docteur avec un adulte qui découvrait le haut des fesses de l'enfant pour faire semblant de lui faire une piqûre, des enfants faisant mine de manger les selles d'une couche, et des enfants en maillot de bain apparemment enlevés et maintenus sous l'eau par des adultes jusqu'à l'évanouissement.

Cette vidéo choquante a recueilli presque six millions de vues.

Et peut-être même plus inquiétantes, cette série de vidéos par webcam de jeunes filles qui — à la différence des vidéos du style ToyFreaks — ne semblent pas cibler les enfants. Ces vidéos proviennent en majorité de comptes ponctuels et montrent des jeunes filles peu vêtues parlant ou chantant devant des webcams.

Certaines des vidéos ont recueilli des millions de vues. Beaucoup tournent depuis des années. Par exemple, cette vidéo a été publiée en septembre 2012 et elle montre une jeune fille en chemise de nuit.

Via youtube.com

Comme beaucoup de vidéos de ce genre, elle comporte des commentaires illustrant des commentaires de prédateurs.

Nothing but respect for MY president.

Getty Images / Me / Via Twitter: @csydelko

Columbia Pictures / Me / Via Twitter: @csydelko

Getty Images / Me / Via Twitter: @csydelko

Getty Images / Me / Via Twitter: @csydelko

Getty Images / Me / Via Twitter: @csydelko

Getty Images / Me / Via Twitter: @csydelko

Getty Images / Me / Via Twitter: @csydelko

Getty Images / Me / Via Twitter: @csydelko

Getty Images / Me / Via Twitter: @csydelko

Image Entertainment / Me / Via Twitter: @csydelko

Stay shooketh.

Elijah and Christine / Via giphy.com

Obviously.

I’ve aged 30 years in the past month.

Hi. Every morning (except weekends because I'm not a monster) I sum up all the crazy shit happening online and send out a newsletter recapping it. You can subscribe here:

If you can't see the sign-up box above, simply click here to sign up!

This good boy faked a cough so his parents would stay home and hang out with him.

Kennady Longhurst

People smashed their expensive coffee makers to "protest" Keurig pulling ads from the Sean Hannity show. IDK.

@AngeloJohnGage / Via Twitter: @AngeloJohnGage

This guy with no experience in the food industry or individual business endeavors was like, very shocked, running his own business was hard?????

YouTube / Via youtube.com

Meet the man who deactivated Trump's Twitter account.

Screenshot from Youtube

There's a new Fifty Shades coming out and there's a wild passage about having sex while making stir-fry.

Scott Bryan / BuzzFeed

A war crimes defendant literally took poison as his guilty verdict was read out.

ICTY via AP

Someone wrote a feminist defense of "Baby It's Cold Outside."

There’s cricket, engineering, history, live-in relationships, parental love, and a female Devdas.

Laakhon Mein Ek

Comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath's foray into fiction began this year with a show about IIT coaching centres in India. The series explores the life of Aakash and how he struggles to keep his grades high and please his parents.

Check it out here.

Amazon Prime

Inside Edge

An incredibly addictive BTS look at a fictional cricket league in India and the politics that go into scoring the big runs and making the superstars. While it'll be hard for you to point out why exactly it works, you won’t be able to stop watching.

Check it out here.

Excel Entertainment

Bose: Dead/Alive

Rajkummar Rao has had an incredibly acting year and he wraps it up with this period drama about the life and times of Subhash Chandra Bose, and the mystery surrounding his death.

Check this out here.

ALT Balaji

Bisht, Please!

This TVF original introduces us to Neetu, a "good girl" who often finds herself in ridiculous situations.

Check it out here.

TVF

What the Folks

The show is about Nikhil and the time he spends at his in-laws’ home with the entire family, while struggling to keep his cool and learn more about them.

Check it out here.

Dice Media

Livin'

Harish and Haritha met on Tinder and decided to move in together after a year of dating. While all seems well, their love story has a big obstacle: their freeloading stoner best friend.

Check it out here.

Madras Central

Romil and Jugal

The series, a take on Romeo and Juliet , revolves around a gay couple trying to stay in love in a homophobic society.

Check it out here.

ALT Balaji

Fathers

The show hilariously captures the lives of three uncles living in the same society and their struggles to keep up with the next generation, with adorable results.

Check it out here.

TVF

Shut Up Ya Kunal

Comedian Kunal Kamra sits across the table from various faces from the vast spectrum of Indian politics to really understand what is going on in their minds.

Check it out here.

youtube.com

Inmates

What seems like an Indian version of Friends, the show takes you along the journey of five roommates and their lives together.

Check it out here.

TVF

Rise

Rising star Vikrant Massey experimented with formats by appearing in a web series about a man who dreams of taking a road trip on his bike, when his plans are suddenly foiled by other issues.

Check it out here.

youtube.com

As I'm Suffering From Kadhal

The show revolves around the lives of four pairs — a divorced father and his daughter, a live-in couple, a married couple, and a lovesick one. Have a good laugh as you watch them suffer the various trials and tribulations of being in love.

Check it out here.

Hotstar

Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai Take 2

Your favourite '00s family returns to the internet with a reboot. In this season, we see them going through conflict as Rosesh finally decides to get married, to someone Maya Sarabhai does not approve of.

Check it out here.

Hat Trick Productions

Consti-tuition

One man breaks down policy, legislation, and how politics ACTUALLY works in India and the Indian parliament.

Check it out here.

youtu.be

Stupid Man, Smart Phone

Based on the British reality series of the same name, this show sees Evelyn Sharma and Sumeet Vyas explore uncharted territory with the help of nothing but their smartphones.

Check it out here.

Viacom18

2by3

A married couple in their thirties is forced to move in with three bachelors in their twenties after losing all their money. How both sides learn to adjust to each other and slowly build an adorable bond is what the series is about.

Check it out here.

Dice Media

Dev DD

This incredibly addictive trash drama has her dealing with love, heartbreak, alcoholism, and bad decisions before eventually destroying herself.

Check it out here.

ALT Balaji

Toofan Mail

Through short, three-minute-long episodes, Archana Kavi stars in a Manglish series about the heartwarming relationship between a father and daughter, after the demise of the mother.

Check it out here.

youtube.com

NIKKI Perkins is holding her months-old daughter Ava in a London shopping mall when a woman approaches and snatches the infant child away. Perkins freezes.

Clutching Ava, the woman runs off across the mall, makes a beeline for her own daughter, and proceeds to show her Ava — here is the little Australian girl we've only ever seen on a screen!

Fast forward more than 18 months and Perkins is reliving the moment. "It was that aunty sort of vibe, where she just grabbed her," she tells BuzzFeed. "[I wondered] Did that really just happen?"

For Perkins, this incident brought home one consequence of living at least part of your life online for the consumption of an audience — not all viewers realise that even for YouTubers there are safety and privacy lines that cannot be crossed.

Nikki Perkins and her husband Jamie are happy to hug, and take photos with, their fans. But Ava is off limits.

AVA Perkins has lived her short life in the public eye. Since her conception the 2-year-old has had an Instagram following. So too her future sibling, whose existence was announced in September by her parents — Nikki and Jamie Perkins — on Instagram.

Ava.

Instagram: @jamieandniks

Nikki.

instagram.com

Ava.

Instagram: @jamieandniks

The announcement received more than 100,000 likes. The Perkins share a version of their life with over 800,000 Instagram followers and 1.2 million people on YouTube. For this Australian family, life = likes, followers, fans and a full-time job.

The visual timeline of Ava’s life is in stark contrast to her mum Nikki, who doesn’t have a single photo of herself as a baby.

Nikki was born in Khartoum in Sudan and migrated with her family, whose roots are in what is now South Sudan, to Victoria, Australia, in 1994 when she was 4-years-old.

She grew up in the suburbs of Melbourne, and there, in Moorabbin, her family’s South Sudanese values were integral to her upbringing. Living a private, quiet life was paramount. So too was working hard, an example set by her father, who took his final veterinary science exam in Australia 10 times after missing the required mark by 0.5% or 1% each time.

Nikki’s parents encouraged her to excel in school, perhaps study medicine or law, and focus on building a “stable” career.

Instead Nikki became a YouTuber.

Push back from her family over her new career was inevitable. When she started vlogging they avoided the camera.

“My Dad was on the train one day and some subscribers came up to him and were like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re Nikki’s dad!’, and he was horrified that people recognised him from our videos,” Nikki said. “It’s hilarious.”

And when she first brought Jamie, now her husband, home to meet members of her family, they were initially shocked that he was white and not South Sudanese.

It’s not that Nikki's disregarded the advice of her family, she's just done things a little differently, treading her own path in love and career.

I grew up in the Sydney suburb of Lidcombe, surrounded by people who had been born overseas and subsequently made a home in Australia (more than 28% of Australians are born overseas). And for the most part the community was tolerant and accepting of all cultures. Nikki had a similar experience in Moorabbin.

Even though there were not many South Sudanese families in the area, she felt safe and welcome, and wasn’t made to feel different. There were few racist remarks or other negative comments from her peers or in the community.

“Growing up, I never really realised I was different from everyone else,” Nikki says. “I never really got bullied for my skin. It’s funny because the only time I was made to feel different was from my own people, because I’m darker than my mum.”

Nikki Perkins, with Jamie, during her second pregnancy.

Instagram: @jamieandniks

It was when she started dating Jamie, and sharing her life online, that it all changed. Her skin colour and their interracial relationship became a topic. And she began to face criticism in the comment feeds.

I speak to Nikki and Jamie in the YouTube creator’s lounge at September’s VidCon event in Melbourne for people who love video.

Around me are people I’ve watched online for years, including Patrick Starrr, Gigi Gorgeous and Wengie. Nikki arrives wearing a black t-shirt with MELANIN printed on the front in white — her identity politics are clear to anyone who’s spent time on Instagram. She's softly spoken and just as beautiful as she looks in her photos.

Nikki, 27, and Jamie, 34, earn a comfortable living by vlogging.

Nikki, a former model who worked in hospitality, and Jamie, an ex-wedding videographer, met on MySpace through mutual friends, and began their relationship after first building a friendship electronically (Jamie made the first move btw).

Their YouTube following has built off the back of Jamie uploading their marriage proposal video. Viewers soon requested more. At first, it was a hobby — they didn’t know how to monetise videos, let alone generate enough income to quit their day jobs.

It took two years for YouTube to become their job. Now they post a new video twice a week. In terms of production that means filming five days a week and editing for two.

“It all started as enjoyment,” Jamie says. “We weren’t doing it because we could make money, but when we realised we could supplement our income by doing something we enjoyed doing as a hobby, it was great.

“Of course, there’s the benefit of being able to pick your own hours, but being able to spend so much time with our daughter is the number one benefit.”

Jamie’s role as Ava’s father has at times elicited judgement and misunderstanding. A doctor asked Jamie how he knew Ava, assuming that Jamie and his own daughter weren’t related. Jamie says the encounter was “confronting” more than “racist”.

In the comment feed of Nikki’s beauty channel side-project the colour of her skin is a regular talking point. Nikki may feature on both channels, but the audiences and level of vitriol is completely different.

In the channel focusing on family life difference is celebrated (one comment reads, “You guys bought [sic] a smile to my day!”), while Nikki says “all the trolls hide in the beauty section”.

"The black girl magic has really blown up now,” says Nikki. “Everything is at its peak of melanin. It went from literally no-one noticing to everyone being like, ‘Oh my gosh’.”

Comments on Nikki’s beauty videos reflect the mainstream beauty industry idea that black is rarely beautiful; she also receives backhanded compliments such as “Your [sic] really dark colored. but your [sic] so beautiful” and “Don't get me wrong people, but I think some of you are liars I know you don't want to have that kind of skin, DUH!!!!!!! Because I don't want too honestly”.

Nikki modelled for a short time, and her younger sister Duckie Thot has developed a successful modelling career. But they’ve done so within a global industry that is increasingly more diverse than what’s seen in Australia, where beauty is still largely defined through a white lens.

In the US the celebration of melanin has been translated into commercial success for models including Thot, Ajak Deng, Winnie Harlow, Simone "Slick Woods" Thompson, and brands such as Fenty Beauty. And it’s in that space that Nikki is trying to operate.

“My Instagram has blown up, the black girl magic has really blown up now,” Nikki says. “Everything is at its peak of melanin. It went from literally no-one noticing to everyone being like, ‘Oh my gosh’.”

"One of the sad things is the media only really shows the negative when it comes to South Sudanese," says Jamie.

Nikki attributes the growth of her Instagram to the #blackgirlmagic craze, which has been both a positive and a negative. The viral photo of Nikki and Jamie while she was pregnant with Ava, for example, brought equal amounts of praise and criticism.

Comments such “ok so…how much does he make?” and “you’re only with him for the money” are typical.

“I was broke as hell when I met her,” Jamie says.

“I wish he was rich!” Nikki adds.

The challenge for Nikki and Jamie is finding the right balance between sharing aspects of their marriage and family life, and over-sharing, which corrodes the little privacy they have, and exposes Ava and Nikki to a level of verbal violence that is intolerable.

In creating and publishing content, vloggers are blurring the line between friend and stranger with their viewers. YouTuber’s call their viewers family, and sometimes even create a name for their community.

Felix Kjellberg, who is known as Pewdiepie, is the most subscribed YouTuber in the world with almost 58 million followers, and has the Bro Army for example. He opens every video by greeting his “bros”, and acts such as this can create a heightened sense of connection, making some viewers feel like they’re more involved and known to their favourite YouTuber than is actually the case.

By watching vlogs and seeing glimpses into a YouTuber’s “private life” subscribers are exposed to all the fears and dislikes of their favourite people. They know when a YouTuber is anxious, or when they don’t like to be approached. They even know what the YouTuber’s favourite snacks are.

It’s a different world to that of the traditional celebrity, who shares only what they choose to, thus remaining unattainable and untouchable. Vloggers are more open because that’s the business model.

JAMIE recounts that when they first started their channel, people would show surprise that their family life was so familiar. Bi-racial marriages don’t automatically mean there are extreme cultural differences or family tension, but part of the surprise may be the result of the way the South Sudanese community has been covered by Australian media.

The Perkins in their Melbourne home last Christmas.

Instagram: @jamieandniks

“One of the sad things is the media only really shows the negative when it comes to South Sudanese … stuff like the APEX gang,” says Jamie.

“They’re trying to push the negative stuff, but they’re not trying to show any of the good stuff. Or when they do it’s like a war story: 'From war-torn country he’s come up [through] the ranks. Used to be a child soldier and now look he’s got a college degree!' There’s no middle-ground, showing it’s just normal.

“Nikki is South Sudanese. She’s proud to be South Sudanese, and of her parents' culture, but she is just the same as anybody else living in Australia.

"And that’s why so many people relate to Nikki so much because she’s just…normal.”

Are you more invested in a YouTubers personal life than your own?

Lots of jokes, lots of dancing, lots of mesmerising design.

BB Ki Vines — Group Study (19,422,548 views)

youtube.com

Indian School Of Commerce — "Jimmiki Kammal" Dance Performance (19,477,012 views)

youtube.com

Kyle Hanagami Choreography — "Shape Of You" (121,790,941 views)

youtube.com

Make Joke Of — "Chacha Ke Patake" (19,157,341 views)

youtube.com

Amit Bhadana — That Dumb Friend In Every Group (11,319,670 views)

youtu.be

Rangoli by Pooja Tatola — Unique Rangoli Design using Chalni (9,432,928 views)

youtu.be

India TV — Kangana Ranaut in Aap Ki Adalat

youtu.be

Jeya Raveendran — "Cheez Badi" Dance Cover

youtu.be

Mehendi Artistica — Step by Step Latest Mehndi Design For Hand 2017

youtu.be

Zakir Khan — Life Mein Chahiye Izzat!

youtu.be

BB Ki Vines

youtu.be

Technical Guruji

youtube.com

Vidya Vox

elle.in

FactTechz

youtube.com

Sandeep Maheshwari

youtube.com

Ashish Chanchlani

youtube.com

Amit Bhadana

youtube.com

YourHealth

youtube.com

Nisha Madhulika

youtube.com

TS Madaan

youtube.com

The tiny one with not-so-tiny dreams is conquering hearts and you need to know why.

Hello friends. Have you been living under a rock? If not, you would have probably heard of this YouTube sensation, Shirley Setia.

In just the past year, she has released two original songs of her own, sang two Bollywood songs, gone on tour with Armaan Malik, and still managed to make videos for YouTube. Phew.

twitter.com

The Auckland-raised girl has literally hustled her way to the top.

youtube.com

It hasn't troubled her that she has achieved all that she has at JUST TWENTY TWO.

youtube.com

She is always ready to face her fears.

youtube.com

While she is best known for her Bollywood covers, she has been nailing mainstream English pop too.

instagram.com

She makes ~wanderlust~ look good.

Instagram: @shirleysetia

She never gets tired of her fans and knows them all really well.

youtube.com

At the same time, she doesn't worry about trolls.

youtube.com

She is truly and really relatable.

youtube.com

Not just her music, but her goofiness can also keep you entertained.

Instagram: @shirleysetia

She knows that comfort > style, always.

They don't call her the pyjama popstar for nothing.

instagram.com

She has been one of the brightest beacons of hope in the shitstorm that was 2017...

Instagram: @shirleysetia

And whether you like it or not, she will disarm you with that lovely smile.

Twitter: @ShirleySetia

Catherine V. Harry is only 23, but she’s already famous for tackling topics, from female virginity to menstruation, that most people in Cambodia won’t touch.

Catherine Harry knew right away that doing a video on female virginity was going to get a reaction — she just didn't expect it would get 2 million views.

View Video ›

"I actually didn't think it was going to be that big!" the 23-year-old student told BuzzFeed News. "Apparently people here are very, very interested in debating about whether or not a woman's virginity is her worth.

"It's one of those things that riles me up because I always hear people say 'This woman is not a virgin, she's not pure, therefore she's not a proper woman' ... I wanted to dismantle the whole idea."

Facebook: video.php

Harry, who built a loyal following in her native Cambodia over four years through her popular blog, has only been posting vlogs since February. But her Khmer-language videos have totally blown up this year.

They now regularly get tens of thousands of views on Facebook, the most popular social media platform in Cambodia, and she's building a presence on other social networks like Instagram and YouTube.

Instagram: @adoseofcath

Harry adopted social media early — she opened a Facebook account when she was 12 to follow her then-crush Jesse McCartney. Back then hardly anyone in Cambodia was on Facebook, and nobody thought of it as a platform for news.

View Video ›

After she finished high school, she started working with the BBC on a project focused on reproductive health and began to realize many of her thoughts on the subject were missing from Cambodian media. And with that the "A Dose of Cath" blog was born.

"I felt like I needed to be heard," she said.

facebook.com

Traditional gender roles are still very much a part of the culture in Cambodia, where schools teach a code of conduct for women called the Chbab Srey, which puts women at the center of domestic life and deemphasizes their roles as leaders.

View Video ›

Her willingness to take that on has prompted plenty of love from her fans, many of whom are women from Cambodia's younger generation.

Unfortunately she gets some hate too, she said, including harassing messages and even unsolicited dick pics. The hate has kept others from speaking out on the same subjects, even though her following demonstrates the interest is there, she said.

Facebook: adoseofcath

"No Cambodian person has ever done this before in Khmer," she said. "People see the reaction I get and people are scared by that. It's not very pleasant to get all the harassment and all the negativity."

View Video ›

Facebook: video.php

But in the end, Harry says that people follow her because she isn't afraid to speak about taboo subjects — everything from abortion to victim-blaming.

There are lots of NGOs in Cambodia that work on issues concerning women, like sex trafficking, but Harry wants to address issues she feels have been left out of the conversation, like online harassment, sexual health, and beauty standards. She hopes to keep growing the audience for her vlog and start a foundation someday.

youtube.com