To be fair, I think the story of laowhy86 and serpentza is also one of consent manufacturing not by censorship but by incentives (a bit like journalists in corp

To be fair, I think the story of laowhy86 and serpentza is also one of consent manufacturing not by censorship but by incentives (a bit like journalists in corporate media implicitly knowing that they can kiss their promotions goodbye if they're anti-war). They had really grassroot organic videos about their lives as expats and had extremely valid criticisms of China's policies and circumstances (such as him investing in property and realizing that all the amenities then become unmaintained because the developers finish a project and move on). They were thoughtful and nuanced. But then at some point in the last few years, they realized that their full on China-bashing videos had way stronger YouTube responses and more monetization. At this point, their content just went Access Hollywood in organic quality where they would try to get into confrontational situation to generate negativity. I don't think they're malicious, but they also know that their weekly China's going down the drain videos are keeping the lights on. (I also don't doubt that the Chinese government 'invited him to have tea' and made him make positive videos or leave China. Nothing I said makes that acceptable. But it doesn't change the original point)