The YouTuber MKBHD (Marques Brownlee) discusses the ethics of being a tech reviewer on YouTube. He explains that as an independent publisher, he has to establish his own rules and guidelines. He references the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines for social media marketing, which emphasize disclosure.
Brownlee shares his own policies:
* He does not do paid reviews.
* He does not give manufacturers an early look at his reviews.
* He clearly labels sponsored content.
* He distinguishes between reviews and non-review content, such as product showcases.
* He discloses when a product was provided by the manufacturer or purchased himself.
He also acknowledges that he is not perfect and that he has made mistakes in the past. However, he emphasizes his commitment to honesty and transparency.
Brownlee encourages his viewers to be critical of the information they consume and to seek out multiple sources before making a purchase decision. He also invites his viewers to ask him questions and engage in a discussion about his policies and ethics.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The speaker is a tech reviewer on YouTube.
2. The speaker's channel is called MKBHD.
3. The speaker has never done a paid review and never will.
4. The speaker never gives manufacturers an early look at a review before it goes live.
5. The speaker's reviews are an evaluation of a product to determine if it's worth buying.
6. The speaker's reviews include their experiences, opinions, and recommendations.
7. The speaker does not consider sponsored videos to be reviews.
8. The speaker has a playlist specifically for reviews.
9. The speaker usually includes the word "review" in the title of review videos.
10. The speaker has a policy of not doing paid reviews.
11. The speaker has only done one fully sponsored video in over 11 years.
12. The speaker considers brand collaborations to be different from sponsored content.
13. The speaker has partnered with brands for certain content, but it's not paid.
14. The speaker believes it's essential to disclose when a product was provided by the manufacturer versus purchased.
15. The speaker used to include disclosure information in the description of every review but stopped doing so.
16. The speaker plans to bring back the disclosure information in the description.
17. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has guidelines for social media marketing.
18. The speaker believes it's essential to be transparent about their relationship with companies.
19. The speaker is not concerned about their relationship with companies changing due to something they say in a review.
20. The speaker plans to do an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit.