From the Editor: Jubilee Media, what the heck is up with your debates?

As journalists and media workers, we have a responsibility to ensure our reporting includes diverse viewpoints and sources.

If we’re cold approaching people to gather their thoughts on a topic (known in journalism as “streeters”), such as election results or a new piece of legislation, we make a conscious effort to include the voices of those who are often underrepresented in the media. We seek out the perspectives of women and people of marginalised genders, BIPOC and minorities, and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

We also try to include sources with various opinions on an issue or subject, such as people from both sides of the political aisle and independents.

But this doesn’t mean people with potentially dangerous viewpoints should be spotlit in our stories. If an interviewee is sharing racist, bigoted rhetoric or unfounded medical advice, we need to consider the negative impacts it can have on our readership and the broader communities and regions we serve. Needless to say, we must not platform hateful or harmful speech.

So you can imagine my dismay when I stumbled upon debates from Jubilee Media’s Surrounded series in my YouTube feed and saw a number of participants saying some pretty concerning things … to say the least.

Broadcaster Mehdi Hasan was told to “get the hell out” by a debate participant when he told him he was an immigrant. Another debater refused to flat-out condemn the Nazis and the Holocaust. He even said “I frankly don’t care [about] being called a Nazi at all.”

In another episode of Surrounded, a participant rhetorically asked political commentator Sam Seder a question: “What’s the problem with xenophobic nationalism?”

Wow.

These are just a few examples, and I don’t think further explanation is needed about why they are tremendously concerning.

Beyond the Surrounded series, where one person is surrounded by several people who disagree with them about politics and social issues, Jubilee also offers another program that encourages different sides to reach some sort of consensus or agreement, fittingly entitled Middle Ground. Want to know the most-viewed episode of that series? It’s “Flat Earthers vs Scientists: Can We Trust Science?” I wish I was kidding.

In another Middle Ground episode, “Is Obesity a Choice? Fit Men vs. Overweight Men,” Fresh&Fit Podcast co-host Myron Gaines said if he was president, he’d put all overweight people in a “fat concentration camp so they can concentrate on dieting and exercising.”

Jubilee, a media company that values “creating human connection,” should seriously reconsider platforming people with racist, prejudicial arguments and messaging. But even with its other debates — like pitting scientists and flat-earthers or different body types against each other — it begs the question of who these videos are even for?

Don’t get me wrong, watching everyday people engage in discourse can be a great way of gaining insight into the lived experience and struggles of those with opinions different than yours.

However, when the premise of said debate serves no tangible, educational purpose — or when some of the participants fancy saying things no one should be proud of — it is nothing more than clickbait, polarizing trashy reality T.V. And not the good kind, like 90 Day Fiance.