Popular Youtubers “Kraut and Tea” & “Suibhne” come forward about how there channels which have a combined 814,000 subscribers and 55 million views were approached by Turkish media companies who offered to pay them to make videos denying the Armenian Genocide, reports Zartonk Media.
Youtuber “Kraut and Tea” released a statement on July 9 in which he said “I received an email last week from Turkish media company 365 Derece digital agency. They asked me for my price to make a video about a specific topic for them. They also specified that they would be doing the research and writing, and I would only animate and edit it for my channel.”
https://twitter.com/Der_Parrot/status/1413568376715235333?s=20
Another history Youtuber James Suibhne in response to Kraut and Tea’s statement said that his channel “Suibhne” which has 459,000 subscribers said “I received the exact same email from a Turkish media company offering to pay me to make propaganda denying the Armenian Genocide. This is sickening,” in a Twitter post.
https://twitter.com/SuibhneOfficial/status/1413779994661191680?s=20
“Kraut and Tea” creates YouTube videos by researching content about various topics ranging from history, anthropology, geography, culture and more. On March 26, 2020, he posted a YouTube video speaking about Turkish history in which he spoke about the Armenian Genocide.
https://youtu.be/XgjiJHV8P0w?t=3551
Kraut and Tea’s full statement runs as follows,
“I received an email last week from Turkish media company 365 Derece digital agency. They asked me for my price to make a video about a specific topic for them. They also specified that they would be doing the research and writing, and I would only animate and edit it for my channel.
“It turned out that they wanted me to deny the Armenian Genocide. What’s more they wanted me to basically do it in the style of the Turkish history videos I made, basically, wanting me to attack my own video.
I have thought long and hard before deciding how to react to this, and if I should react at all. Friends of mine have pointed out to me that this is most likely part of a media campaign, and therefore other Youtubers will probably also be approached with the offer. Meaning that there might be Youtubers out there in the near future, who will make videos attacking me over the Armenian Genocide.
Historic fact is not for sale. The Armenian Genocide is such a historical fact. And that definition is not something that I am willing to sell. This is not just a matter of my personal integrity as a creator. This is a matter that goes far beyond my mirror measly existence as a YouTube. Genocide, the study of genocide, and the study of how we engaged and confront the legacy of genocide it’s not just the mere field of history and in academia, it is an important social conversation that one ought to have. I am part of the last German generation but had to ask their grandfather and uncomfortable question of what they did during the second world war. Yes, confronting a legacy of genocide is something deeply uncomfortable and even traumatizing for a society, but it is a process that one can not avoid. Society that refuses to confront the demons of its past, is a society that will be haunted by those demons.”