YouTube has restored the account of a Chinese national in Odessa who was covering the atrocities in Ukraine, a week after suspending when it received a report that it contained “suspected violence”.
Wang Jixian, whose daily Mandarin vlogs detailing his life in the Ukrainian city made him an internet sensation, was temporarily suspended on Thursday last week. In his video immediately before the suspension, his video showed Chinese translations of a voice recording of Ukrainians speaking about atrocities committed by Russian soldiers.
A YouTube spokesperson said: “With the massive volume of videos on our platform, sometimes we make the wrong call on content that is flagged by our community. When this is brought to our attention, we review the content and take appropriate action quickly, including restoring videos that were mistakenly removed.”
Wang, from Beijing, began posting daily vlogs on his YouTube channel shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. “Today is … I am still in Odesa. I am still alive,” his videos begin. His daily updates quickly drew more than 100,000 followers but also the ire of China’s legions of nationalistic netizens. His channel suddenly went quiet last week.
The programmer told his followers on Twitter that his appeal against the suspension was rejected last week. YouTube temporarily suspends reported accounts for potential violations for one week, which may be extended to 90 days if violations continue.
Wang told Radio Free Asia he didn’t blame YouTube, but the “ulterior motives” of whoever reported him, saying: “where is the violence? I didn’t include photos [of violence] in my video.”
Undeterred, Wang created a new YouTube channel to continue his daily updates. His new account, created last Thursday, hosts a six-day streak of videos and has already garnered 34,000 followers. Followers posted messages of relief on his new channel. “I admire your courage,” one wrote.
Despite his loyal following, Wang’s support for Ukraine chafes with the narrative that China is enforcing on its citizens back home. Chinese state media has reported atrocities in the town of Bucha earlier this week as a “show” the Ukrainian side was putting on for the west, and largely portrays Russia as a victim in the conflict.
The suspension followed weeks of harassment of his family members in China and the deletion of his WeChat account in mid-March. “What are you scared of? Is my voice really that terrifying?” Wang said in a video addressing WeChat’s deletion of his account.