YOUTUBE UNDER FIRE

Staff members at YouTube have recently taken issue with the company’s refusal to remove a song that some of them find to be racist toward the Asian American community.

Employees called for the removal of rapper YG’s 2014 song “Meet the Flockers,” due to its inclusion of lyrics that detail a burglary and call for targeting of Chinese neighborhoods, according to Bloomberg.

Asian American and Pacific Islander communities have seen a recent surge in violence during the coronavirus pandemic, with a recent incident including a shooting rampage in the Atlanta area that left eight people dead, including six Asian women.

In light of the increased violence, some YouTube employees requested that the company’s Trust & Safety team, which is tasked with ensuring a safe community on the platform, remove the song. That request was later denied, Bloomberg reported.