TOKYO: YouTube said on Thursday it has punished well-known blogger Logan Paul over a video that appeared to show a body hanging in a Japanese forest that is said to be a suicide spot.
The company said in a statement that it has removed Paul’s channels from Google Preferred and will not feature him in the new season of the web series “Foursome.” It said his new video blogs are also on hold.
Paul earlier announced he was stepping away from posting videos “to reflect” following an outcry when he uploaded images of the apparent body and his reaction to finding it in the forest.
YouTube prohibits violent or gory content posted in a shocking, sensational or disrespectful manner, the company says. It issued a “strike” against Paul’s channel for violating its community guidelines after the posting.
The video was viewed some 6 million times before being removed from Paul’s YouTube channel, a verified account with more than 15 million subscribers.
A storm of criticism followed despite two apologies, with commenters saying Paul seemed disrespectful and that his initial apology was inadequate.
Google Preferred’s advertising program aggregates top YouTube content for advertisers to buy time on them.
YouTube punishes star blogger over apparent suicide post
YouTube punishes star blogger over apparent suicide post
Vietnam police find frozen tiger bodies, arrest two men
Vietnamese police have found two dead tigers inside freezers in a man’s basement, arresting him and another for illicit trade in the endangered animal, the force said Saturday.
The Southeast Asian country is a consumption hub and popular trading route for illegal animal products, including tiger bones which are used in traditional medicine.
Police in Thanh Hoa province, south of the capital Hanoi, said they had found the frozen bodies ot two adult tigers, weighing about 400 kilograms (882 pounds) in total, in the basement of 52-year-old man Hoang Dinh Dat.
In a statement posted online, police said the man told officers he had bought the animals for two billion dong ($77,000), identifying the seller as 31-year-old Nguyen Doan Son.
Both had been arrested earlier this week, police said.
According to the statement, the buyer had equipment to produce so-called tiger bone glue, a sticky substance believed to heal skeletal ailments.
Tigers used to roam Vietnam’s forests, but have now disappeared almost entirely.
