The accusations of rape against the youtubeur Norman have prompted certain financial partners to react. Youtube is considering “sanctions”, but not the deletion of its channel.
With nearly 12 million subscribers to his channel, Norman is one of the behemoths of Youtube France. His success story has even helped make Youtube the preferred platform for videographers in France, so much so that “youtubeur” is now the name of a professional activity. But the very serious accusations made against the French Internet star could well alter or put an end to the production or distribution of content under the conditions currently set. Norman Thavaud, taken into custody on December 5, 2022, to respond to investigators investigating allegations of rape and corruption of a minor, is presumed innocent. But several economic players associated with his name have already reacted.
Contacted by Mediaparta spokesperson for the management of Youtube France gave an answer that goes beyond the case of Norman alone: If “the behavior of a creator, on YouTube or outside, harms [leurs] users, to [leur] community, to [leurs] employees or [leur] ecosystem”, then Youtube does not rule out “taking measures”. Among these, the platform indicates that it has the possibility of suspending the monetization of the content posted online, of reducing its virality by removing it from the highlighted spaces Youtube has also said that these kinds of decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. It is highly unlikely at this stage that Youtube will decide to remove Norman’s channel. The group has, however, done so for convicted personalities on several occasions. by justice, and whose public expression was likely to fuel their criminal actions: Alain Soral and Dieudonné, in 2020.
The videos of Norman and his channel are currently outside of any exclusion protocol, but according to the echo taken by the case, the lines could move. The first of the sanctions will probably come from Internet users, who could be much less likely to follow Norman’s content. But the videographer is already affected by very concrete consequences: the Webedia group (which notably publishes AlloCiné, PurePeople, Jeuxvideo.com…) announced on Monday December 5 that it “suspends[ait] his collaboration” with Norman Thavaud. Since 2015, Webedia has owned Mixicom, the group of videographers Norman, Cyprien and Squeezie and its commercial management.