A Change.org petition called for social media platforms to ban Izo Vilaj de Dye, a Haitian gang leader and rapper.
Izo Vilaj de Dye’s online reach sparked outrage after he received a YouTube Creator Award for having 100,000 subscribers on the platform. Thousands signed the petition to protest the leader of the 5 Segonn/5 Segond gang, which carried out various kidnappings and other crimes in Haiti.
YouTube banned Izo Vilaj de Dye on Thursday (April 13). The company said the Silver Play Button award given to the gangster wasn’t “an endorsement of creators or their conduct off our platform.”
“We terminated the channel in question for violating our Community Guidelines, which prohibit content inciting others to commit violence,” YouTube spokesperson Jack Malon told the Miami Herald.
More than 21,000 people signed the petition to ban Izo Vilaj de Dye from social media as of Friday (April 14). The campaign specifically called out Instagram and TikTok.
“Such a vicious character responsible for some of the most brutal crimes in Haiti right now deserves no praise, no recognition, and no platform to propagate his influence,” the petition read. “It is worrisome and sickening that despite his atrocious crimes, he is seemingly ‘romanticized’ and roaming free without a care in the world. This is truly unacceptable. For the amount of violence and insecurity he is responsible for in Haiti, we cannot in good faith allow this individual to continue spreading his influence. He should be recognized globally for what he truly is and be banned across all platforms. Let’s shut this man down once and for all.”
View the petition here.