Carlos Maza
Maza in 2018
BornCarlos Manuel Maza
(1988-04-09) April 9, 1988
Alma materWake Forest University (BA)
Occupation(s)Video producer, political activist
Employers
Websitewww.carlosmmaza.com

Carlos Manuel Maza (born April 9, 1988) is an American journalist and video producer who started the Vox series Strikethrough. The Columbia Journalism Review described him as "Brian Stelter meets NowThis".[1]

Early and personal life

Maza was born on April 9, 1988.[2] His parents were immigrants from Cuba, and he has three younger siblings, a sister and two half-brothers.[1] Maza frequently played video games as a child, and his mother described him as smart but introverted.[1][3][4]

Maza attended Christopher Columbus High School in Westchester, Florida, where he joined the debate club. According to Maza, the debate club gave him the confidence to speak out and be himself, and he later described it as "the most meaningful thing that's ever happened to me".[1] Maza graduated from Wake Forest University in 2010 with a BA in political science.[5] He is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.[6]

Career

Maza worked at Media Matters for America from 2011 to 2016, where he was a research fellow and created a video series on media criticism.[7][8] At Media Matters, he was also the LGBT Program Director, focusing on combating what he described as LGBT misinformation[5] and working for LGBT equality.[9] He then began working at Vox Media, where he successfully proposed Strikethrough and began producing and hosting the series.[1][10]

In June 2019, YouTube investigated conservative commentator Steven Crowder for repeatedly using racist and homophobic slurs against Maza over the course of multiple years in videos reacting to Strikethrough.[11][12][13] Maza said that Crowder's fans have doxxed and harassed him as a result of Crowder's videos.[11][14][15] Crowder responded that his videos are meant as comedy and that he is opposed to doxxing and harassment.[16][17][18] Four days later, YouTube stated that Crowder's language was "hurtful" but did not violate its policies and would not be removed from the site.[19][18][12] The decision drew considerable criticism and, on the next day, shortly after revising its policy on hate speech, YouTube decided to suspend Crowder's ability to run ads or monetize his videos until Crowder addressed "all of the issues" with his channel.[20][21][22]

Strikethrough was canceled in July 2019, and Maza moved from Vox Media's video team to a new creative role directly under Vox publisher Melissa Bell.[23] In late January 2020, Maza announced that he would leave Vox Media. In February 2020, after leaving Vox, Maza started a media-critique channel on YouTube.[23][24] In an interview with Business Insider, Maza voiced his dissatisfaction with YouTube while also stating that he "might as well flood its airwaves with leftist propaganda" by returning to the platform as an independent creator.[25] In 2023, Sam Kern nominated a YouTube video by Maza for Sight and Sound's video essay poll: "The 'Pay For It' Scam". Kern reviewed that Maza's career experience allows him to combine "professionalism" with "casualness" and that his conclusions to videos excel.[26]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ray, Justin (March 12, 2018). "Amid a sea of voices, Vox's Carlos Maza breaks through". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  2. ↑ "I turned 31 today. It's been a really intense year: big victories, crushing setbacks, and tons of surprises. I'm grateful for all of it". Instagram. April 9, 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  3. ↑ Rodriguez, Matthew (5 November 2015). "Here's the Story Behind the #BeyBeAHero Campaign and Essay From the Man Who Started It". Mic.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  4. ↑ Youn, Soo (June 5, 2019). "Gay Latino journalist reports far-right YouTube personality for harassment, the company sends mixed signals". ABC News. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Deacon Spotlight: Carlos Maza". Alumni Personal & Career Development Center. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  6. ↑ @gaywonk (January 2, 2021). "If you are lucky enough to have your needs met right now, a cool thing to do would be to donate your stimulus money to mutual aid or DSA groups that could use your support!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ↑ Chang, Clio; Shephard, Alex (December 19, 2016). "What Happens to Media Matters in a Post-Hillary World?". New Republic. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Home". Carlos Maza Website. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  9. ↑ Miller, Jake (July 1, 2015). "After Supreme Court win, LGBT activists look beyond same-sex marriage". CBS News. p. 4. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  10. ↑ Gajanan, Mahita (June 5, 2019). "YouTube Says Homophobic Harassment Doesn't Violate Its Policies". Time.
  11. 1 2 Yandoli, Krystie Lee (June 4, 2019). "Vox Host Carlos Maza Is Blasting YouTube For Not Adequately Enforcing Its Hate Speech Policies". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  12. 1 2 "YouTube Says Homophobic Harassment Doesn't Violate Its Policies". Time. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  13. ↑ Wallenstein, Andrew (10 June 2019). "YouTube CEO Apologizes Over Handling of Homophobic Content". Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  14. ↑ Hamilton, Isobel Asher (June 5, 2019). "YouTube is refusing to punish a star with millions of fans after he hurled homophobic slurs at a journalist". Business Insider. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  15. ↑ "YouTube's 'confused' response to anti-gay slurs". BBC News. June 5, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  16. ↑ Asarch, Steven (May 31, 2019). "Carlos Maza, a journalist for Vox, speaks out about the harassment he's received from Steven Crowder and his fans". Newsweek. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  17. ↑ Frazin, Rachel (June 1, 2019). "YouTube investigating conservative commentator Steven Crowder". The Hill. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  18. 1 2 Goggin, Benjamin (June 9, 2019). "YouTube's week from hell: How the debate over free speech online exploded after a conservative star with millions of subscribers was accused of homophobic harassment". Business Insider. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  19. ↑ Hern, Alex (June 5, 2019). "YouTube says homophobic abuse does not violate harassment rules". The Guardian. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  20. ↑ Bote, Joshua (June 6, 2019). "YouTube pulls ads from right-wing pundit after journalist alleges anti-gay harassment". USA Today.
  21. ↑ Rosenburg, Eli (June 4, 2019). "A right-wing YouTuber hurled racist, homophobic taunts at a gay reporter. The company did nothing". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  22. ↑ Nett, Danny (June 8, 2019). "Is YouTube Doing Enough To Stop Harassment Of LGBTQ Content Creators?". NPR. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  23. 1 2 Alexander, Julia (January 31, 2020). "Carlos Maza is back on YouTube and ready to fight". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  24. ↑ Roose, Kevin (February 12, 2020). "A Thorn in YouTube's Side Digs In Even Deeper." The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  25. ↑ INSIDER, Connor Perrett. "Journalist Carlos Maza who feuded with YouTube over anti-gay harassment and free speech is rejoining the platform to 'flood its airwaves with leftist propaganda'". Business Insider. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  26. ↑ Meadows, Queline; Trocan, Irina; Webb, Will (19 December 2023). "The best video essays of 2023". Sight and Sound. British Film Institute. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
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