The idea that blocking ads is unethical because it harms content creators would have a lot more weight if YouTube didn't pay content creators such a pittance.

The idea that blocking ads is unethical because it harms content creators would have a lot more weight if YouTube didn't pay content creators such a pittance. YouTube is a middle-man that has inserted itself between content creators and content consumers so they can collect rent, and they've happily fucked over content creators every single time it has served their bottom line to do so. Viewing YouTube ads supports YouTube more than it does content creators--you can make some argument that maybe the opaque monetization somehow benefits creators more than YouTube, but there can be no question that the power is firmly in YouTube's hands. It's bad for content creators, who have to constantly worry about frivolous copyright claims, demonetization, and the mysterious algorithm causing them to lose views and subscribers. And it's bad for consumers, who end up with a watered down and censored version of content, with the ubiquitious "like and subscribe!" and "this episode sponsored by" constantly being rammed down their throat even when using an adblocker. If you want to support content creators, support content creators, not YouTube. I make recurring donations to a few different YouTube artists and they get more money from me than they would if I didn't use an adblocker.