This isn’t like my typical post… Recently there has been a lot of drama going on with a YouTuber I’m subscribed to. They made a couple of videos saying that they’re leaving YouTube because of someone, and another person commented something that they think is an opinion, when really it’s just hate. I had replied asking them to not say anything if they didn’t have anything nice to say, and then the ‘hater’ and the person who made the video started arguing. I had said that we shouldn’t reply any more so it wouldn’t get worse but they keep making it worse by replying. This is making me very stressed and I had said that I won’t be replying anymore. I’m not sure what to do and I feel like I should’ve just let it be, even though I want to help my friend and defend them… They’ve said a couple of things to me that kinda felt like they were sending hate to me and it’s making me feel horrible and like I need to make a video about it or leave YouTube… I won’t leave YouTube only because I have many friends on there, but the person is making me feel that way. I know I could take a break from YouTube, but I’ve been gone from YouTube for so long because I can’t post animations until after June 5th. Is there a way I could help my friend while not causing more drama?
Support your friend privately. Haters thrive on getting a response. It’s what has caused so much unrest in the country lately. Selfish, hateful people act out, whether marching on government buildings with guns, rioting, or making threats over Twitter. There are people who support the hater, there are people who strike back, and there are people like you who implore both sides to get along. Even though your response is loving and rational, any responses embolden the haters. You can’t control how your friend interacts with haters on YouTube, but you can send a private message to say you support him/her, the other person is out of line, and maybe encourage him/her to stop engaging. When you do that, you are sticking up for your friend without gratifying the troll, and if the troll quits getting an angry or sad response he will move on.