Get Task & Purpose in your inbox
MOST READ
YouTube — ground zero for cute cat videos and home to some of the world’s most entertaining firearms enthusiasts — made a major announcement on Tuesday: Some of your gun vlogs have to go.
A new update to the Google-owned video platform’s content policy prohibits any video that “intends to sell firearms or certain firearms accessories through direct sale.” Those accessories explicitly include high-capacity magazines or anything that could “enable a firearm to simulate” or “convert a firearm to” automatic fire, from bump stocks to DIY conversion kits.
But the new policy doesn’t just prohibit commercial sales: It flags anything that could be interpreted as instructions on installing or “manufacturing a firearm, ammunition, high capacity magazine, homemade silencers/suppressors… and instructions on how to convert a firearm to automatic or simulated automatic firing capabilities.”
Related: This Site Lets You Buy All The Ammo You Want Online »
Guns rights advocates were incensed by the sudden change. “We suspect it will be interpreted to block much more content than the stated goal of firearms and certain accessory sales,” the National Shooting Sports Foundation said in a statement. “We see the real potential for the blocking of educational content that serves instructional, skill-building and even safety purposes. Much like Facebook, YouTube now acts as a virtual public square. The exercise of what amounts to censorship, then, can legitimately be viewed as the stifling of commercial free speech.”
But beyond claims of “censorship,” Guns.com reports that the regular gun vloggers in particular — folks who dedicate their time to exploring every engineering and historical facet of a firearm (and their use, an essential educational supplement for those who don’t always have access to formal training) — are worried that the new policy would “effectively shut down all gun pages,” as NFA Review Channel put it in a Facebook post.
They might be right: Spike Tactical had its YouTube page shut down on the same day the policy change was announced, although it’s unclear if it was due to a specific video. But other popular gun blogs like InRange TV have sought safe haven on more alluring video platforms — namely, PornHub:
Oh, you thought I was kidding? Fuck you.Pornhub
“YouTube’s newly released vague and one-sided firearms policy makes it abundantly clear that YouTube cannot be counted upon to be a safe harbor for a wide variety of views and subject matter,” InRange TV said in a statement. “PornHub has a history of being a proactive voice in the online community, as well as operating a resilient and robust video streaming platform.”
Even beyond active content moderation by YouTube, gun vloggers say the new policy won’t just deprive the average American of entertaining (and educational!) content, but effectively cuts video revenue out from under them. Indeed, my own personal favorite, Hickok45, counts a full-auto suppressed M16 among its top videos, with 10 million views. Anyone with at least a passing understanding of digital media knows that the ad dollars from those mega-popular videos help fund other projects.
But most importantly: PornHub has gun videos! Now you can knock out two birds with one, uh, stone.
WATCH NEXT:

NAS Pensacola shooter reportedly hosted a 'dinner party' to watch mass shooting videos the week before the attack
The Saudi military officer who shot and killed 3 people at Naval Air Station Pensacola on Friday reportedly hosted a "dinner party" the week before the attack "to watch videos of mass shootings," the Associated Press reports, citing an unnamed U.S. official.
Minnesota National Guard identifies 3 soldiers killed in helicopter crash
The Minnesota National Guard has released the names of the three soldiers killed in Thursday's helicopter crash.
This NAS Pensacola shooting victim saved 'countless lives' during the attack, his brother says
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on Business Insider.
Joshua Kaleb Watson has been identified as one of the victims of a shooting at the Naval Air Station Pensacola, CBS News reported.
The 23-year-old Alabama native and Naval Academy graduate was named to the Academy's prestigious Commandant's and Dean's lists, and also competed on the rifle team, Alabama's WTVY reported.
Navy, Pentagon to review base security procedures following 3 deadly incidents in one week
Editor's Note: This article by Richard Sisk originally appeared on Military.com, a leading source of news for the military and veteran community.
The Navy pledged Friday to find ways to upgrade security procedures and prevent future attacks following two shootings and a fatal gate runner incident at naval bases in Virginia, Hawaii and Florida in the last week.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper also announced he is "considering several steps to ensure the security of our military installations and the safety of our service members and their families," although he did not give details.
The Navy has identified the two Defense Department civilians who were killed in a shooting Wednesday at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii.