1. YouTube’s Harsh Reality
Any creator on YouTube can expect to encounter trolls, malicious remarks, or hate comments. This toxicity ranges from generic insults to identity-based harassment and often disproportionately targets certain creators. Female and minority creators, for example, report facing especially vicious harassment (sexist, racist, homophobic, etc.) simply for being visible. One report noted that “members of minoritized groups, such as women, Jews, people of color, and LGBTQ+ creators, are especially at risk” of hateful comments.
Popular beauty vlogger Ingrid Nilsen once confronted YouTube’s CEO about the rampant bullying she faced, highlighting how common and damaging such attacks were for women on the platform. Political and commentary channels likewise attract polarized, heated comments; if a creator voices a strong opinion, opponents may flood their videos with vitriol. In fact, creators say that when a woman creator goes viral on a polarizing issue, she “will undoubtedly be subject to a waterfall of hateful comments” from detractors.
In short, whether you run a beauty channel or a political vlog, dealing with nasty comments is an unfortunate part of the YouTube experience. The good news is that creators have developed a toolkit of strategic and operational methods to cope with and counteract these comments.
2. Setting Boundaries and Community Tone
Creators often draw a clear line for acceptable behavior in their comment sections, establishing boundaries to keep discussions respectful. One of the first things many YouTubers do is set clear community guidelines for their channel. They treat their channel like their “home” and remind viewers that they are guests who must behave respectfully. This can be done by stating expected behavior in video descriptions or the channel “About” section, and even pinning a comment on each video that says, for instance: “Please keep comments constructive and civil; hateful or off-topic comments will be removed.”
By explicitly setting boundaries, creators signal that malicious comments won’t be tolerated. Some follow up by encouraging their audience to help: e.g. “If you see inappropriate comments, please report them.” This proactive stance helps foster a more positive atmosphere and can deter some trolls from even bothering.
In addition to rules, creators often set the tone by highlighting positivity. Rather than let toxic voices dominate, they amplify supportive commenters. Many will heart or pin great comments from fans, effectively rewarding positivity and pushing negative remarks further down. By giving shout-outs to constructive feedback or praise, they “shine a spotlight on the positivity” in their community. This not only drowns out some of the negativity, but also encourages other viewers to behave similarly in hopes of being recognized.
A strong, positive community can organically discourage lone haters, as supportive fans might downvote or call out trolls, creating a self-policing effect.
3. Moderation Tools and Operational Tactics
YouTube provides creators with a wide array of comment moderation tools, and most serious creators use them as a first line of defense.
3.1 Keyword Filtering
YouTube’s Blocked Words feature lets creators automatically hold or hide comments containing specific terms. Creators compile lists of slurs, insults, or other trigger phrases they don’t want on their channel. For example, one female creator shares that her filter list covers general insults (“idiot,” “loser”), body-shaming words (“fat,” “ugly”), and sexist tropes (“make me a sandwich,” “stay in the kitchen”) – all common attacks on women.
By preemptively blocking hateful keywords, they ensure many malicious comments never see the light of day. Creators also update these filters over time; as one YouTuber facing misogynistic harassment put it, “I’m always adding new filters to my comments, because that’s the only thing I can do.”
3.2 Hold Comments for Review
Beyond specific words, creators often enable YouTube’s setting to hold potentially inappropriate comments for review automatically. This AI-driven filter catches a lot of spam and abuse before it goes public. Some even choose to hold all comments for review on particularly controversial videos, manually approving only constructive ones. This requires effort, but it gives the creator full control to screen out toxicity. It’s essentially a “polite bouncer at your virtual door” — you decide what language and content is allowed in.
3.3 Deleting & Blocking
When hateful comments do slip through, creators don’t hesitate to delete them. It’s common practice to simply remove abusive comments – a reasonable policy is that if a comment is “abusive, hateful, or completely off-topic,” it gets tossed out. Along with deletion, creators will block the user (a.k.a. “hide user from channel”), so that person cannot comment on future videos.
This “take out the trash” approach sends a clear message that negativity isn’t welcome. Blocking on YouTube is a shadow ban – the harasser might not even realize they’ve been blocked (their account can still comment, but no one else will see it), which often is the perfect revenge against trolls.
3.4 Reporting Extreme Harassment
If a comment crosses into hate speech or threats, creators will report it to YouTube in addition to deleting it. YouTube’s policies forbid “malicious insults based on attributes like gender identity” and violent threats, so flagging these comments can lead to YouTube removing them or penalizing the user. For instance, one creator describes her routine: she deletes a hateful comment, reports the user, and then blocks them from ever viewing or interacting with her channel. By reporting, creators also contribute to wider enforcement against hateful actors, making the platform safer for everyone. (In serious cases like direct threats or stalking, some creators have even contacted authorities – though that’s outside YouTube’s scope, it’s a last-resort safety step.)
3.5 Leveraging “Whitelist” and Mods
On the flip side of blocking, creators can maintain an “approved users” list – loyal viewers whose comments bypass filters automatically. This ensures that enthusiastic supporters don’t get accidentally filtered out, preserving healthy engagement. Moreover, as channels grow, creators may enlist moderators to help manage comments. Trusted fans or team members can be given moderation privileges to review and remove comments, effectively acting as community guardians. Large live-streamers do this for live chat, but it can work for regular video comments too. Some channels (especially for brands or big personalities) even hire staff or use third-party services to monitor comments at scale. Having a moderation team means a creator doesn’t have to personally read every toxic comment, which can be a huge relief.
3.6 Disabling Comments (Rarely)
In extreme scenarios, a creator might disable comments on a particular video or entire channel. This is considered a drastic measure (since it cuts off community interaction), but it has been used when the influx of hate is overwhelming or dangerous. For example, some channels dealing with LGBTQ+ content saw such an explosion of hateful comments that they chose to turn off the comment section entirely to protect their mental health and audience. While not ideal, removing the “venue” for harassment can sometimes be the quickest way to halt a torrent of abuse. Creators weigh this option carefully, as it sacrifices engagement, but it’s part of the toolkit for dealing with truly unmanageable toxicity.
3.7 Third-Party Tools
Sometimes, by leveraging third-party tools, creators—especially small and medium-sized ones—can manage their comment sections more effectively. For example, the VideosVox service.
VideosVox integrates with YouTube to automate and enhance comment moderation:
- Automated Filtering: Scans incoming comments using customizable rules and lets you delete, hide or flag toxic remarks with a single click.
- Sentiment & Engagement Analytics: Provides real-time sentiment scores and engagement trends on a unified dashboard.
- Interactive Moderation: Supports polls, Q&As and giveaways directly in comments, with automatic entry processing and result aggregation.
- Multilingual Support: Auto-translates foreign-language comments for seamless moderation across different audiences.
Many users have reported that VideosVox saves them a significant amount of time moderating comments, allowing them to focus more on creating content.
4. To Engage or Not to Engage: Responding Strategies
When faced with a nasty comment, a creator has a key decision: ignore, delete, or respond? The best choice depends on the nature of the comment and the creator’s own style. Here are the approaches creators take:
4.1 Distinguish Criticism from Trolls
Savvy creators first spot the intent behind a comment. Is it offering any valid critique or just spewing hate? “Constructive criticism usually comes with suggestions for improvement… A troll comment is just ‘This video is garbage’ with no useful feedback.” By identifying the difference, creators know when a reply is worthwhile. If someone says “I didn’t like the audio quality, maybe use a better mic,” a creator might thank them and treat it as feedback. But if it’s “You should just quit YouTube, you suck,” there’s nothing to gain by arguing with that – deletion or ignoring is the go-to. Creators also consider the tone and specificity of comments; a harsh tone with no specifics is likely just a troll venting
4.2 Ignore and Don’t Feed the Trolls
Most hateful comments do not get a response. This is a deliberate strategy: trolls “thrive on getting a reaction”, so the worst thing a creator can do is reward them with attention. Many creators adopt the mantra “don’t feed the trolls.” They’ll simply delete the comment or even leave it visible but unacknowledged, letting it fade into the background. “Not every comment deserves your time or energy… sometimes the best move is to keep scrolling and let the silence speak for itself.” By refusing to engage, creators deny the hater the satisfaction and often the troll will get bored and move on. This approach also prevents an escalation – responding in anger can lead to protracted comment wars, which creators want to avoid in their space.
4.3 Positive or Humorous Replies
On occasion, creators turn a negative comment into an opportunity to showcase grace or humor. Responding politely or playfully to a rude comment can disarm the attacker and demonstrate the creator’s confidence. For example, if someone comments, “This video was so boring, I almost fell asleep,” a creator might reply with a lighthearted quip: “Sorry to hear that! Even the best pizza can’t please everyone – maybe try another video, you might find one you like 🍕😉.” This type of upbeat, joking response “takes the wind out of the troll’s sails” and shows other viewers that the creator won’t be dragged down to the troll’s level. Importantly, the humor is kept good-natured – creators avoid snarky comebacks or personal attacks in return, since they want to model the respectful behavior they expect. Some creators are even able to kill with kindness: genuinely thanking the commenter for watching, which can sometimes surprise a hater into mellowing out.
4.4 Address It Head-On (Selective)
If a particular negative comment raises a valid point or a concern that other viewers might share, creators may address it directly. This is more of a PR technique – rather than speaking to the troll, the creator is really speaking to the broader audience to clarify a misunderstanding or acknowledge a mistake. For instance, if a hateful comment spreads misinformation (“You plagiarized this content!”), the creator might leave a calm, factual reply or a pinned comment correcting the record for everyone. This tackles the issue without descending into a fight with the original poster. Another head-on tactic used by some creators is creating a separate “responding to hate” video. This is relatively rare, but in cases where a creator is getting a lot of similar hate (perhaps due to a controversy or a particular stance they took), they might make a video to openly discuss it. By doing so on their own terms, they can debunk myths or explain their perspective, hopefully defusing the situation. However, creators have to gauge if this will pour fuel on the fire or actually help – it’s a careful PR calculation.
4.5 “Reading Mean Comments” Videos
A popular trend among YouTubers is the “reading mean comments” video, which is a form of reframing harassment as content. Especially common among larger creators (including many female creators who face constant sexist remarks), these videos involve the creator reading out some of the worst comments they’ve received and often laughing at them or rebutting them wittily. This serves two purposes: it demystifies the hate (exposing how absurd or petty it is) and it rallies supportive fans (who often respond with an outpouring of positive comments to counter the featured negativity). Researchers have noted that “many women YouTubers use ‘reading mean comments’ as a rhetorical tactic to subvert aggression and build a strong self-policing community on their channels.” In other words, by publicizing the trolls’ words, creators take power away from them. It turns the table: the creator is now openly mocking the hate, and the community usually responds by vehemently backing the creator. Real-world examples include countless vloggers and even celebrities on YouTube doing segments like “Mean Comments Q&A” or similar. These videos often end up being cathartic and humorous, converting what was meant to hurt into something that entertains and strengthens the creator’s image. (Of course, not every creator feels comfortable doing this – it requires a certain resilience and confidence. Those who do, however, often find it an effective strategy.)
4.6 When to Escalate or Get Help
If a “hater” is not just a random troll but someone leading a targeted harassment campaign (for example, another creator sending their followers over to attack, or an obsessed individual stalking a creator across platforms), direct engagement is usually futile and potentially dangerous. In such cases, creators will focus on documenting and reporting the harassment. YouTube now has policies against “creator-on-creator” harassment as well, but enforcement is not always timely. Some creators have publicly called out YouTube for not doing enough in these scenarios. Generally, the strategy here is to involve the platform and authorities rather than personally duke it out. Many creators have had to lean on YouTube’s systems, and if those fail, sometimes they expose the situation on social media or enlist their fanbase to report the offending accounts. This is more crisis-management than day-to-day strategy, but it’s worth noting as an approach creators use when simple moderation isn’t sufficient.
5. Building Resilience: The Creator’s Mindset
Beyond tools and tactics, a huge part of dealing with hate is psychological resilience. Creators often talk about the mental and emotional strategies needed to not let toxic comments get under their skin:
5.1 “It’s Not You, It’s Them”
A common mantra is don’t take hateful comments personally. Creators remind themselves that trolls spew negativity because of their own issues. One article advised creators to view hate commenters with a bit of pity: “Try to imagine how many emotions are bottled up in that person… most likely, the reason [for their nastiness] is not you.” Indeed, happy, well-adjusted people rarely spend time attacking strangers online. Realizing this helps creators detach their self-worth from a random insult. “What happy person would want to spend their time posting angry comments on a video they don’t like?” one guide asks rhetorically. Many creators literally tell themselves, “That commenter must be unhappy or having a bad day,” to not internalize the hate.
5.2 Thick Skin (with Time)
Almost every creator acknowledges that negative comments hurt – especially in the beginning. It’s normal to feel that sting of a rude remark. But creators learn to recover faster and not dwell on it. Developing a “thick skin” doesn’t mean they become emotionless robots; it means they learn to bounce back more quickly. One analogy compares it to pulling weeds from a garden: a few nasty comments (weeds) shouldn’t stop you from enjoying your beautiful garden (channel) – you pluck them out and move on. Over time, creators get desensitized to generic insults like “you suck.” It might still annoy them for a minute, but it no longer crushes them as it might have early on. Many find strength in remembering that even superstar YouTubers with millions of fans get plenty of hate – it just comes with the territory. In fact, seeing hate comments can be oddly validating; as one article put it, “On a positive note, if you have haters, it means you’re popular. Seriously!… silently acknowledge it as a good sign.” This mindset turnabout transforms hate into a sign of success (while being careful not to seek out haters for ego’s sake).
5.3 Focus on the Love
To counteract the psychological weight of hate, creators deliberately focus on positive feedback. For every troll’s jab, there are usually dozens of appreciative comments from genuine viewers. Many creators make it a habit to read supportive comments or fan messages regularly, especially after encountering negativity, to remind themselves that the haters are a minority. By engaging with fans who are kind and ignoring those who aren’t, creators reinforce the feeling that their community is largely supportive. Some even keep a “warm fuzzy folder” (screenshots of nice comments or fan art) to look at whenever they feel down due to a mean comment – a tangible reminder of the positive impact they have.
5.4 Humor and Owning It
A lot of creators use humor as a shield. Whether it’s outright laughing at the ridiculousness of a hate comment or making a self-deprecating joke about it, humor helps defang the negativity. “Laughing off negative comments” shows you’re not easily rattled. For example, if someone comments on a creator’s appearance insultingly, the creator might jokingly agree in an obviously exaggerated way (“Absolutely, my hair does look like a bird’s nest today 🐦😂”) – thereby taking the power out of the insult. This approach isn’t for everyone or for every type of comment, but a playful mindset can turn what would be hurt feelings into “Haha, that was so over-the-top it’s almost funny.” It helps that creators often see patterns – trolls frequently spout the same few clichés (like “cringe” or “nobody cares”). Seeing how unoriginal most hate is can itself make it less threatening, even boring. Of course, creators are careful not to joke about serious harassment (e.g. threats or slurs); those are no laughing matter and are handled with removal/reporting, not banter.
5.5 Self-Care and Breaks
Mental health is paramount. Creators learn to take breaks from the firehose of online opinions. Constant exposure to toxic comments “can feel like emotional quicksand”, so stepping away is important. This might mean not checking comments for a day or two, turning off notifications on their phone, or even taking a hiatus from uploading if things get too overwhelming. As one guide says: “Remember — you are your top priority. Take breaks when you need them… whether it’s stepping away from your channel or spending a day doing something that recharges your soul.” Many creators also practice other forms of self-care: exercise, hobbies, talking to friends offline – anything to remind them that life is bigger than YouTube and one person’s cruel comment doesn’t define them. It’s also common to seek support from loved ones: just venting to a friend or another creator about a nasty comment can alleviate the burden. Surrounding yourself with supportive people, both online and off, acts as a buffer against the hate. And if harassment really takes a toll, creators acknowledge there’s “no shame in seeking help from professionals” (therapists or counselors) to work through the stress. After all, dealing with online harassment can be traumatic, and taking care of one’s mental health is a priority.
5.6 Peer Support and Solidarity
Interestingly, many YouTubers form informal support networks with fellow creators who have been through similar experiences. This might be as simple as a private group chat of creators who cheer each other up and give advice on handling trolls. Knowing that others truly understand what it’s like to be on the receiving end of thousands of random internet comments can be a huge relief. They share war stories and coping tips (for example, one might share their list of blocked words with another, or recommend a moderator). This camaraderie combats the isolation a creator might feel when facing a wave of hate. In recent years, there are also more formal resources emerging: YouTube’s own Creator Safety Center provides tips for dealing with harassment, and organizations like PEN America have published guides on self-care for online abuse. The overall message is you’re not alone – roughly half of internet users have faced online harassment in some form, so creators should remember that many peers have gotten through it and they will too.
6. Real-Life Examples & Case Studies
Concrete examples of creators dealing with hate highlight how these strategies play out in practice:
- The Proactive Moderator: DreamlikeDiana, a beauty/content creator, shared her personal method to keep trolls at bay. She maintains an extensive blocked-words list covering everything from general insults to misogynistic remarks. When a hateful comment does appear, she acts quickly: 1) Remove the comment immediately, 2) Report the user to YouTube for harassment, 3) Hide (block) the user’s channel from viewing her content, and 4) Even copy the user’s channel URL to add to a blocked list (to catch that user if they try from another account). By thoroughly scrubbing the offender from her channel, she not only erases the nasty comment but also preempts future attacks from the same source. This no-nonsense approach has helped her community remain a welcoming space.
- Filtering in Action: Abelina Sabrina Rios, a political comedy YouTuber, has spoken about the relentless sexist hate she gets. During the infamous Depp-Heard trial, for instance, misogynistic trolls swarmed her content (she recalls being called “Amber Heard” as an insult and even told by commenters they wished she’d die). Rios said her only recourse was constantly updating her filter lists with new abusive terms as she encountered them. “I’m always adding new filters to my comments… that’s the only thing I can do,” she explained, underscoring how critical the operational tools were for her survival on the platform. It exemplifies how creators in highly toxic environments lean heavily on moderation features to cope day-to-day.
- Turning Hate into Content: Many well-known creators have made “mean comments” videos. For example, popular beauty guru NikkieTutorials once did a “Reading Mean Comments” segment responding to people attacking her appearance and voice. By calmly and humorously addressing those jabs on camera, she transformed the narrative – showing her millions of fans that she rises above the hate. This aligns with the observation that such rhetorical tactics can “subvert aggression and build a strong community”. Her video not only vented her feelings in a productive way but also prompted an outpouring of support from viewers, effectively drowning out the negativity. Similarly, gaming creator Jacksepticeye has occasionally highlighted absurd hate comments in some of his Q&A videos, often laughing them off. However, when he faced something truly personal – e.g., trolls mocked the death of his father – he publicly condemned the behavior and took a break from content to recover, illustrating that sometimes stepping back is the healthiest response when harassment crosses deeply personal lines.
- Community Backlash and Support: In 2019, Vox journalist-turned-YouTuber Carlos Maza went public about being harassed with slurs by another YouTuber’s community. While this was an extreme case (creator-on-creator harassment), it led to a massive discussion on the platform about enforcement of policies. Maza’s stance was essentially a case study in calling out platform inaction; it wasn’t something he as a creator could fix with moderation tools, so he shifted the fight to the platform level. His example shows that when harassment goes beyond what a creator can handle alone, sometimes the strategy shifts to advocacy – rallying public and platform attention to enforce rules. It’s a reminder that creators often operate within the constraints of YouTube’s systems, and when those fall short, they seek community and corporate support.
- Genre Differences: Creators in different niches sometimes face different flavors of hate. Beauty and fashion vloggers (often women) might see more appearance-based and sexist comments, leading them to focus on filters for words about looks or gender. Gaming or tech channels might get aggressive backseat gamers or accusations of being “fake” or “paid shills,” so they may block phrases like “fake review” or “cringe” as those are commonly used to troll tech creators. Political commentators inevitably attract ideological haters; their strategy often involves very heavy moderation and sometimes turning comments off on divisive videos, as the debate can get out of hand quickly. Lifestyle vloggers sharing personal life might attract extremely personal attacks (about their family, relationships, etc.), so they often develop a thick skin about strangers opining on their lives and are quick to delete invasive or cruel comments. Across the board, though, the principles of dealing with hate are similar – maintain control of your space, engage on your terms (if at all), and don’t let the haters poison your passion for creating content.
7. Conclusion
Dealing with malicious or hateful comments is a multi-faceted challenge, but YouTube creators are not powerless in the face of trolls. By combining operational tools (like filtering and moderation) with personal strategies (like resilience, humor, and support networks), creators can effectively manage the toxicity. The consensus from those who’ve endured it is clear: you control your channel’s narrative. As one guide put it, “you have the power to control the narrative in your comments section”. Creators can cultivate the kind of community they want by weeding out hate and reinforcing positivity. It’s not always easy – and it’s certainly stressful at times – but many creators find that over time, their tactics pay off. Their audience learns what’s acceptable, the hardcore trolls move on (or get banned), and the supportive fans multiply. In the end, the presence of some haters is almost like a badge of having “made it” online, but it doesn’t have to derail a creator’s journey. As the experiences of countless YouTubers show, malicious comments can be confronted and overcome. Whether through a witty comeback, the click of a “hide user” button, or simply the emotional strength to not give up, creators continue doing what they love despite the negativity. By sharing their strategies and stories with each other (and with the platform), they’re pushing for a healthier commenting culture. The message is an empowering one: You can’t control the haters’ behavior, but you can control how you react and how you safeguard your community. With smart strategies and a resilient mindset, YouTubers are turning the tide on hate, ensuring that the comments section becomes a place for conversation and community – not toxicity.