De-monetization and filming Artillery Crews

Firstly, id like to thank all of the new recent Patreon subscribers who subscribed here after hearing about being demonetized on Youtube. This is a big help, and is making it easier to crunch the numbers to keep the channel chugging along. Youtube has demonetized the channel until January 14th, and has taken $3k our channel made in advertising for the last month and a half away, and it will not be returned unless it is overtunred before the first of next year. That means they take $3k of ads that have already ran on my channel, and 4 months without pay for videos. Sadly, youtube seems to have no intention of retracting the demonetization. The reason for our channels demonetization we still don't know. First they told us it was harassment, then they said it was a sensitive content policy violation, then a fair use violation, and now they are saying its harassment again. They say they can't send me any video I.D.s because its a "channel wide" problem. When I ask them to please point out the behavior in question, or give any clarification, they either say they understand that I want more info along with no new information. I have no idea what I could have done to earn this strike, and they have no interest in clarifying. I will keep shouting into the void on twitter, but this is a hit to the financial health of the channel. Thank you for helping to make it more bearable. The real scary thought though, is if they don't tell me what I did wrong, and the deadline passes, and then they tell me that I'm still violating monetization rules. If I don't know what I did wrong, how can I fix anything?

You can see my most recent correspondence with Youtube support on my DylanBurnsTV official twitter account, which also posts updates about the demonetization, and the channel in general: https://twitter.com/DylanBurnsTV/status/1717372410033303677

The photos that I have attached to this, most of them still unpublished, are from my most recent embedded with an artillery team supporting the Zaporizhia counter offensive, and another artillery team in Donetsk. I should be releasing an article about this soon, with a few more pictures. A few notes about some of the pictures I have attached.

The first picture is of a Donbas coal mountain in Donetsk that I took a picture of on our way to Kramatorsk. Coal mining is a large industry in Donetsk, and has embedded itself into the culture in a way that I find similar from my experiences in West Virginia. 

The pictures of the solider in crocs are some of my favorite. I checked the go-pro footage, and he did wear them while firing the artillery gun. 

The sign with all of the flags taped on them is the entrance sign for Orikhiv, a city near the Zaporizhian frontline. A lot of soldiers pass through the city on their way to the front, and live in and around it. These soliders were posing in front of the sign, and asked us to take their picture. After a few shots, one of them brought over a kid, and gave him AK-74 with no magazine to hold as a prop in a picture. The closest Russian position is 5-6 miles away. 

The picture with the solider crouching and smoking next to the trench I think really emanates the feeling of anxiety that comes with the job.

I will be releasing footage of this trip, which includes a embed with Ukrainian crews on American provided M777 howitzers supporting the counter offensive, an embed with a Ukrainian crew defending the Donbas from Russian attacks, an interview with a grad rocket crew that uses shoot and scoot tactics, and interviews with combat medics that have to treat injuries of those wounded at the front. This footage will be released on my main Youtube channel DylanBurnsTV. 

Before that releases, and I can really get underway with editing that, I will first be releasing on my main channel an interview with 4 Ukrainians across the political spectrum, reacting to Hasanabi (the #1 political streamer) and his takes around the war. The video will be well over an hour long, and includes reactions to his comments on the Kerch bridge attack, his predictions before the war, his recent streams with H3H3 over the war, and more. The audio isn't the best due to mic problems, but its still serviceable footage. Next time ill mic people up better, I recently got gifted some lapel mics from my journalist friend Philip Ittner, so that will help. The reason I did this is because conversations about Ukraine in the online political space, often do not include Ukrainians. Hasan is the top twitch political commentator, what he says effects how people view the war, and giving people the opportunity to see what Ukrainians have to say about popular online commentary around the war I think is useful. After some Ukrainians reacted positively to the idea, I put this in motion, and conducted the interviews a few weeks ago. Giving those most directly affected by suffering a platform to voice their thoughts about the future of their land, is the least our space can do, after so much commentary online has not included the perspectives of those being colonized.

I have new interviews out on the channel. Check them out here.

Brazilian (fmr. PMC) International Legion fighter: https://youtu.be/mCOEJDtY0N4?si=B1-0ANy-VHMq79vq

Kraken Commander Interview: https://youtu.be/9CQVS94_rD0?si=aoGUbd2dFeZ3CtwB

And my report from getting shelled with aid workers in Kherson: https://youtu.be/NdTVY3r7Y-s?si=ip4Twbu5SVSVIFsd

I will be heading out east again soon to film with Dima, a civian aid worker who helps evacuate those who live close to the frontline. I have already filmed with him before in Chasiv Yar (near Bakhmut) and other locations, but haven't released any footage yet. I want to get more footage of him and spend more time interviewing him, before I show you guys what these heroes have to deal with. Also plan to get more de-mining interviews afterward, to add to my de-mining footage vault, which I plan to use so I can create a long documentary about de-mining, but more importantly, de-miners themselves. Not a lot of footage in English concentrating on this, not any long form documentaries either that I know about, so if I can add to that in some way I will be happy.

Stay Frosty,

Dylan