The contract spans four years, concluding in 2033, and includes the main ceremony along with red carpet programming, backstage footage, and Governors Ball coverage. Additional content includes the Governors' awards, nomination reveals, the nominees' Luncheon, student Academy Awards, interviews with Academy members and filmmakers, educational programming, and podcast material.

In a joint declaration, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor stated, "We are thrilled to enter into a multifaceted global partnership with YouTube to be the future home of the Oscars and our year-round Academy programming." The executives added, "The Academy is an international organization, and this partnership will allow us to expand access to the work of the Academy to the largest worldwide audience possible – which will be beneficial for our Academy members and the film community."

Recent years have witnessed the Academy diversifying its voting membership, with international voters now comprising 21% of the electorate.

Neal Mohan, YouTube's chief executive, indicated the collaboration would "inspire a new generation of creativity and film lovers while staying true to the Oscars' storied legacy." He described the Academy Awards as "our essential cultural institutions."

The streaming platform has reached record viewership levels in the US throughout this year, sustaining its status as the top-performing streamer amid declining network television audiences, The Guardian reported. YouTube broadcast its first live NFL game in September, drawing over 17 million viewers. By April, the service had accumulated 9.4 million subscribers.

A network spokesperson commented, "ABC has been the proud home to the Oscars for more than half a century." The statement continued, "We look forward to the next three telecasts, including the show's centennial celebration in 2028, and wish the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continued success."

In 2023, Netflix obtained the rights to the Screen Actors Guild Awards, rebranding them as the Actor Awards and transferring them from broadcast to streaming. Variety reported that Netflix and NBCUniversal had also competed for the Oscars' rights.

This trend has drawn sharp criticism from Hollywood. Screenwriter Daniel Kunka wrote on X in response to the announcement of the contract with YouTube: "YouTube broadcasting the Oscars is like shaking hands with the guy who's trying to kill you." An insider told Variety: "They can do whatever they want. You can have a six-hour Oscars hosted by MrBeast," referring to the widely successful American YouTuber.

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At the "Let Me Explain" panel during the Israel Hayom conference in New York, three influencers – comedian and journalist Eitan Levine, sports media personality Emily Austin, and Living Lchaim founder Yaakov Langer – shared how they inadvertently became the spearhead of Israeli and Jewish advocacy on social media. Between threats, contract cancellations, floods of hatred, and antisemitic responses, they insisted on remaining visible, Jewish, and proud – fighting lies not only with facts but also with humor, sports, and deep human conversations.

Levine explained that once you become an openly Jewish figure online, there is no escape. "They called me a 'kike' even before October 7. My sister lives in Israel, I lived there, and I visit often. The day everything exploded, I had no choice but to stand behind Judaism and the connection to Israel. If this is part of me – then I will also be stubborn about it."

Langer, who came from the ultra-Orthodox world, admitted that October 7 was a moment of sobering realization for him. "I always knew there was antisemitism, but something in me said – well, they do not really hate us like that. And then you saw the depth of the hatred, without any logic. From that was born the place to be a proud, open Jew, and to say – if there is a problem, it is their problem."

Austin came from the most American dream there is – sports. "I was negotiating with ESPN, working with NBA teams, I was riding the wave," she said. "And then October 7 happened. Almost at the same moment, Puma parted ways with me, Sports Illustrated dropped me, the negotiations with ESPN stopped, even Miss Universe. I found myself at 22, without work, after being at my peak."

But instead of disappearing, she pressed on the gas. "I said to myself – if I have to lose everything, even my life, to say what is right – I will do it. Sports is a language that unites people; through it, I reach players, coaches, and an audience that would not encounter Zionism in any other way."

She did not hide the personal cost. Exposure of personal details, threats, a flood of hatred – to the point of constant contact with the FBI. "I was sure that those threatening me were sitting in Iran. The answer was, 'They are from Staten Island,'" she said with a half smile.

Levine used stand-up comedy as a weapon. "If you are funnier than the other side – you won the argument, even if you are not 100% right. Comedy is an insane way to convey information. The moment you make someone laugh, they are suddenly open to hearing about Israel too."

He insisted on reminding people that Israel is not just war. "When I think about Israel, I think about the food, about the hot people in Tel Aviv. We must invest not only in videos of horror, but in music, art, and culture – to turn Tel Aviv into a global cultural hub. For every dollar invested in explaining October 7 – the next dollar must go to culture."

Langer, on the other hand, chose the most un-TikTok format – in-depth conversations on YouTube. "We have over 1.6 million subscribers, because people are thirsty to understand. It is easy to hate 'Jews' as a group, but it is much harder to hate a person after you hear an hour of their life story – of a hostage survivor, a soldier, a rabbi, or a mother."

According to him, there are three groups: proud Jews, declared haters, and "a lot in the middle – who do not know. Muslims who grew up on hatred of Jews wrote to me and said, 'Only now do I understand that you are normal human beings.' This happens when you let them get to know us truly."

The three speakers agreed that the real battle is over "the influenceable center" – people who are not sure, or who were dragged along by trends. Austin emphasized, "People know what happened on October 7. They are not ignorant – some of them just are not sad about it. So just flooding more and more facts is not enough. You must also talk about American interests – about how Israel contributes to security, technology, and the economy. Today, the narrative is that Israel is a 'leech' on the US. This is simply not true, and no one is explaining it seriously."

Levine warned against automatic labeling. "The question is not whether Tlaib or others are jihadists – but whether calling them that works. The answer is no. We lose when the whole world is defined as 'antisemitic.' We need a restart. Get out of the comfort zone, sit with those who seem like enemies to us – and discover that at least 90% of them do not hate us like we imagine."

Austin gave a personal example. "There is one person on Twitter who turned 'Jewess' into a derogatory nickname for me. I liked every response of his. In the end, he wrote to me privately, 'Aside from Israel, I agree with you on everything and respect you.' And suddenly – all the tweets were deleted. Sometimes it is not that deep; it is habit, it is herd mentality. You need courage to talk to them."

At the end of the panel, Langer used his son and candy as a metaphor. "Candy is the easiest to love. It is sweet, it is available, it is not nutritious. To hate Israel and Jews – it is like an instant candy, it is 'cool,' it goes with the flow. But it does not hold over time. What we are trying to do is turn the healthy thing – Jewish identity, the connection to Israel, the human story – into something cooler, deeper, and more accurate. Not to focus on the losers shouting in the street, but on building a strong, proud, and attractive community."

As Levine summarized with a smile, "The best thing you can do for advocacy – is simply to follow me on Instagram."

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NBC placed the sitcom in the desirable Thursday time slot previously held by the original series. The pilot drew 18.6 million viewers; the first season averaged 10.2 million; and the second season fell to 7.1 million. The cast starred Matt LeBlanc as soap opera actor Joey Tribbiani, Jennifer Coolidge, Andrea Anders, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Ben Falcone, Drea de Matteo, and Paulo Costanzo.

NBC pulled the series from Thursdays in December 2005, tried relaunching it on Tuesdays in March 2006, and cancelled it in May that year. Eight completed second-season episodes never aired in the United States but were shown by networks outside the country. The Wrap noted that Warner Bros. chose to upload the episodes on a channel with ads rather than on a subscription service.

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Rabbi Benjamin Holtzman of Kibbutz Ma'ale Gilboa recently celebrated his first grandson Lavi's circumcision ceremony with family and friends. However, the joyous event was somewhat overshadowed by an incident that occurred afterward online, causing Holtzman to reflect sadly on how countries, leaders, and organizations throughout history have treated one of the most important Jewish traditions.

According to Holtzman, one of the attendees recorded the ceremony on their phone and uploaded it to YouTube to share with family members. However, access to the video was blocked.

"What bothered me most was the message on the website explaining the reason for blocking it," Holtzman said. "It states that 'content that endangers the emotional or physical health of minors cannot be published on YouTube' – this reminded me of reasoning and excuses used throughout history to try to abolish Jewish customs – particularly the circumcision ceremony."

Holtzman added that the person who uploaded the video appealed to YouTube about the block, but received a generic response, and the appeal was rejected.

Holtzman published a post on another social network (Facebook) describing the video block and added, "Even the Greeks and Romans banned circumcision under the pretext of bodily harm. Apparently, already Antiochus (167 BCE), and certainly Hadrian (117 CE) prohibited 'castration and circumcision.' And now YouTube is joining them."

"An appeal was also submitted to YouTube, and unlike Antoninus Pius, the emperor who exempted Jews from the decree (but not other peoples, effectively preventing conversion) – YouTube rejected the appeal and maintained its ban on uploading circumcision ceremony videos," he added. "I assume the initial removal was automatic, due to the video's subject, not because someone complained about the content, but when it comes to appeals, they should dedicate more thought and thorough examination to it."

"I think there needs to be more sensitivity to this issue, especially considering recent attempts in European countries to pass decisions against circumcision," Holtzman said. "Sometimes they call it 'harm to minors' and sometimes 'preserving bodily purity,' but it joins a disturbing wave against Jewish traditions that have accompanied us for many generations, such as circumcision and kosher slaughter, for example."

Eventually, Holtzman reported, the circumcision ceremony video was uploaded to another internet video sharing service, and the memento from the happy day was distributed among family members.

YouTube responded, "We reviewed the video and found it does not violate our Community Guidelines, as it was shared in an educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic context (EDSA). However, since the video includes nudity of minors, it is not suitable for all viewers and therefore has an age restriction."

It should be noted that, according to the company's child protection policy, content that includes nudity of minors cannot be uploaded to the platform. However, there may be very limited exceptions, but even in these cases, the content may be subject to age restrictions if it is not suitable for all viewing audiences.

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Susan Wojcicki, the former CEO of YouTube, passed away at the age of 56 after battling non-small cell lung cancer.

Wojcicki played a crucial role in Google's creation and trajectory, renting her Menlo Park garage to the co-founders for $1,700 a month in the early days.

She took over Google's advertising arm in 2002, transforming it into a multibillion-dollar business, and convinced the founders to acquire YouTube, which she later led as CEO from 2014.

As YouTube CEO, Wojcicki oversaw the launch of YouTube TV and a $14 billion deal with the NFL for exclusive rights to NFL Sunday Ticket.

She was known for improving workplace environments, having a deep passion for education, and addressing challenges at YouTube related to speech and content governance.

Wojcicki's impact on Google, YouTube, and the tech industry was praised by leaders such as Google CEO Sundar Pichai, former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, and others.

Her battle with cancer was not widely known, and she planned to focus on family and personal projects after stepping down from YouTube.

Sources: Washington Post, Financial Times, The Guardian, Forbes, PBS, Wired, USA Today, Business Insider, Time, CBS News, BBC, CNET, HuffPost, The Hill, TechCrunch, The Irish Times, El Economista, Infobae, La Jornada

This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.

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Free web-based tools like Merlin AI and Google's Gemini AI for Android can efficiently search through YouTube video transcripts.

AI-based transcription services like Temi, AssemblyAI, and GoTranscript can quickly transcribe videos, even with imperfect audio or accents, but may require editing. Temi is relatively inexpensive but less accurate. AssemblyAI and GoTranscript offer higher accuracy at a higher cost, especially for non-English languages and accents.

Human transcriptionists are recommended for recordings with significant noise, accents, speech impediments, or challenges, as they provide more accurate transcriptions than AI services.

Developers can use tools like Node.js, AssemblyAI, and the LeMUR framework to transcribe YouTube videos, generate subtitles, and leverage generative AI features like summarization.

Merlin AI's privacy policy ensures minimal user data collection, making it a privacy-friendly option for transcribing videos.

Sources: The Verge, Fast Company, The New York Times, Blockchain.News

This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.

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Several well-known YouTube series failed to secure Emmy nominations this year, despite a growing effort to gain recognition from traditional entertainment circles, NBC News reports.

The Emmy nominations, announced on Wednesday, did not include popular shows such as "Hot Ones," "Chicken Shop Date," and "Good Mythical Morning." According to Variety, "Hot Ones," a celebrity interview show featuring spicy wings, was on the ballot for the outstanding talk series category.

"Chicken Shop Date," hosted by Amelia Dimoldenberg, and "Good Mythical Morning," a morning talk and variety show by Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, were both vying for nominations in the outstanding short-form comedy, drama, or variety series category.

While digital creators have won Emmys in the past, and some YouTube stars like Rachel Bloom have transitioned successfully to traditional entertainment, many content creators have recently intensified their efforts to gain mainstream recognition.

In a June interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sean Evans, host of "Hot Ones," expressed his desire for Emmy recognition. "I'm a traditionalist," Evans said. "I grew up on Letterman, Conan, and Jimmy and those kinds of shows. To compete against those institutions, I think would be the most important distinction we've ever had."

Some digital creators, like Dimoldenberg, have already made inroads into traditional awards shows. Her red carpet interviews at the 2023 Golden Globes gained significant social media traction, leading to her appointment as a "social media ambassador and red carpet correspondent" for the 2024 Academy Awards.

While YouTube did not make formal Emmy submissions on behalf of its creators, the platform's CEO, Neal Mohan, has been vocal about the need for creator recognition. In a February blog post, Mohan advocated for digital creators to be treated as their own production studios, stating they are "redefining the future of the entertainment industry with top-notch storytelling."

Mohan further addressed the Emmys in a Hollywood Reporter column in May. "Some might argue that broadening the Primetime Emmys to include consideration of creators would detract from its storied history or lessen its cultural significance," he wrote. "But recognizing the work of creators is the best way for the Television Academy to continue its legacy of honoring modern culture, while also building a bridge to the next generation of viewers."

Should I tell him? https://t.co/L2EW8boAqa

— Hank Green (@hankgreen) May 14, 2024

However, Mohan's assertion that "it's time a creator won an Emmy" drew criticism from some YouTube veterans. Hank Green, co-creator of "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries," which won an Emmy in 2013, responded to Mohan's column on X: "Should I tell him?"

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Alphabet Inc's YouTube said it has removed R&B singer R. Kelly's channels from its video platform, distancing itself from the singer who was convicted of sex trafficking last month.

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Kelly was convicted by a federal jury in September in his sex trafficking trial, where prosecutors accused the singer of exploiting his stardom over a quarter-century to lure women and underage girls into his orbit for sex.

Two of his channels, RKellyTV and RKellyVevo, have been removed from one of the world's largest video platforms, and the singer will no longer be able to create or own any other YouTube channel, YouTube said in a statement Monday.

The catalog of his music will however be available on YouTube Music, YouTube's audio-streaming service, and videos uploaded by other YouTube users will continue to be available.

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Argentinian journalist Julio López recently discovered a Spanish-speaking hate network by creating a computer program that scans websites for hate speech. A journalist and hacker by trade, López originally sought to search for groups like QAnon, wondering if there were similar groups in Argentina. His study unexpectedly uncovered a secret network of alt-right, Nazi groups in Latin America that perpetuate conspiracy theories related to Jews.

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"I found out there are groups like QAnon in Argentina – there are many – and they're large and have done a tremendous job" infiltrating the web, López told Jewish News Syndicate. After creating computer code utilizing terminology that is considered hate speech, his program scanned thousands of sites, exposing a "breeding ground" for hate that he says is experiencing a "boom."

"The first one I found had a YouTube channel with 220,000 subscribers, 3,000 hours of video and over 24 million views," he explained. "They were recording on a TV studio to replicate regular media content." The channel, named "TLV1" posed as a legitimate Israel-based news site with the same name, violated YouTube community standards and was eventually taken down for inciting hate.

Conspiracy theories perpetuated, according to López, such as "theories like the Andean plan for Jews to merge a nation into Patagonia, and the idea of a new order governed by key positions that are occupied by Jews;" ideas about "a superior race and the male man as the center of the family;" as well as portraying Jews as "immigrants who steal jobs."

This particular YouTube channel, he explained, spanned multiple countries including Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Colombia and Spain, and had linked Facebook groups in order to reach the maximum number of people. It operated for three years before López's advocacy got YouTube to shut it down. "However, Facebook allowed their groups to stay open while YouTube banned them; therefore they still had the power to regroup," he said.

A second group that López found was "more militarized and had more than 80,000 subscribers, wore black and used Nazi fonts and icons … recruiting young people and nurturing them with these ideals. We also found hundreds and hundreds of Telegram channels and satellite groups on Facebook, just waiting to regroup and take action."

According to López, a self-proclaimed "tech geek who loves media and happened to end up with a microphone in front of me," his algorithm also uncovered hate speech in the network towards the LGBTQ community, women and reproductive rights, and other minorities, and calls to disobey the state.

López, who hosts the most-listened-to radio show in the country, "Lanata Sin Filtro," said Argentine media originally refused to broadcast his findings (which López said occurred out of fear of the sites losing financial partnerships with Facebook and Google) until pro-Israel NGO Fuente Latina secured him an interview on CNN Español and other major news networks.

'Hate is country-specific'

According to the founder of Fuente Latina, Leah Soibel, only after the story received international press did Argentinian media organizations begin to cover the story.

What López's network uncovered, said Soibel, is an "incredibly dangerous" trend that exists in the context of fatal antisemitic attacks within the Jewish communities of Latin America. Referring to the anniversary of the March 17, 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that killed 29 people and injured more than 250, Soibel told JNS that "the scars are still real and fresh, and no one has been brought to justice."

"The proliferation of hate speech in Spanish is very real and needs to quickly be addressed," she said. "We know too well that what is published on these sites inevitably leads to someone acting on it."

Soibel commended López for his interest, which intrigued many, as López is not Jewish and even Jewish professionals were not aware of the "tightly knit network that expands to Spanish media in America" that he has exposed.

Uncovering the antisemitic "dark web," said Soibel, is vitally important in what she views as an "information gap" that has occurred during the pandemic, as journalists are not working from their normal production studios, and extremist outlets have sought to fill that void.

Once his study was disseminated in the media, López reported receiving death threats by the extremists that he exposed, with his picture circulating and being called a "Zionist pig."

He has also spoken out against inadequate responses by tech giants. "Facebook and Google don't have the adequate personnel to work on hate speech as compared to [those companies in] the United States," said López, whose efforts to flag content as racist and antisemitic proved unsuccessful on social-media websites.

His long-term goal is to educate social-media platforms such as Facebook that they must approach hate speech differently – not grouping all Spanish-speaking countries together, but understanding that hate speech is a separate phenomenon occurring in countries with different histories and cultures supporting it.

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"Facebook needs to recognize that Holocaust denial, while it is a serious European and American issue, is not the No. 1 form of verbal antisemitism in Latin America," said Soibel. "Each country has its own form of expressing hate. Hate groups are cultural; there is no one linguistic standard. Rather, hate is country-specific, and Facebook should assign a representative for each country to deal with such challenges."

López added that he hopes his study will help to uncover "one more piece in the puzzle that clears the confusion between freedom of expression and  hate crimes," as well as empower Jewish organizations to fight hate and collect enough evidence to "take these groups to court and generate a ruling."

"Hate is not simply stopped," he said. "Hate must be taken to court."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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How has the coronavirus pandemic affected anti-Semitism? The World Zionist Organization reported that in 2020, a Jew was attacked in the United States every single day. In Germany, every third day.

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Nevertheless, this is a decrease in physical violence against Jews compared to previous years because data reveals that due to the coronavirus pandemic and global lockdowns, anti-Semitism has shifted to social media.

The anti-Semitic narrative in the US and Germany targeted Jews based on religion, whereas in France, it targeted Israel. No Jew has been killed because of anti-Semitism in 2020, but concerns are that this might change in the near future as tensions mount due to global pressure from the pandemic and the supportive atmosphere that aggravates anti-Semitism.

There has also been an increase in the vandalism of Jewish heritage sites, including break-ins, breaking Jewish religious items and destroying, tombstones.

Thousands of anti-Semitic and Holocaust-denying messages were tweeted in 2020. On the other hand, Youtube officially banned Holocaust denial content and saw a decrease in the anti-Semitic content on its platform. In October 2020, Facebook announced that it would ban and remove any content that distorts events connected to the Holocaust.

There's been an increase of anti-Semitic accidents in Argentina on pro-Palestinian grounds and claims that Israel is responsible for the global pandemic. Jew-hatred has increased in Germany due to the virus as well.

The country with the highest level of anti-Semitism in Europe is Austria, which recorded 300 incidents in the first half of 2020 alone. In the United States, Black Lives Matter rioters used anti-Semitic chants; countless synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses were looted and graffitied.

"The report clearly shows that there is a trend to physically harm Jews around the world, to the point of murdering them as soon as global lockdowns are over," Chairman of the WZO, Yaakov Hagel said.

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