- Social Innovation Fellowship
Concentration
Award Year
Online
Uplift tackles sexual violence in the YouTube community, which is composed of hundreds of thousands of people who are enthusiastic about creators who make YouTube videos. In the past year, thirty adult male creators have been accused of sexually violent relationships with fans. Mike Lombardo is the most famous case. In February, he was sentenced to five years in prison for exchanging sexually explicit pictures and videos with 11 underage fans. He pled guilty to child pornography charges.There are no resources available to victims that address the unique situation they are in. Uplift is working to change that – starting with YouTube, and ultimately branching out to tackle sexual violence in all online communities.
I care deeply about the YouTube community, which I have been involved with for seven years. My experience has been overwhelmingly positive; I love the unabashedly enthusiastic culture and fascinating people. It is profoundly disappointing to me that this same community could facilitate sexually violent situations. I know the impact of online communities, and I know they will only continue to grow. There must be a concerted effort to ensure those spaces are safe. Due to my background in anti-sexual violence work, I can help create that change for the millions of people in online communities.