Spilling the tea on ‘tea channels’

Recently, there’s been a new trend on YouTube — drama channels, or “tea” channels.

Think of them as the SparkNotes for the YouTube community. They take complicated, confusing scandals and break them down into shorter videos, easy for my short attention span to follow. Why read the entire book when you can just read the summary on SparkNotes? Same idea here.

Or maybe you can think of them as the FBI of YouTube. Drama channels’ most viewed content is about “exposing” famous YouTubers’ scandals. Videos like this typically include screenshots of a given YouTuber’s past tweets, text conversations and blurry snippets of Snapchats and videos.

Although the exact purpose drama channels serve is up for debate, there’s no question about their dramatic rise in popularity. This increase can be linked to the rise of the very YouTubers that tea channels make videos about. YouTubers’ tendencies to overshare always piqued followers’ intense speculation about their lives. And now, as YouTubers achieve celebrity status reminiscent of Hollywood A-Listers, so does the general public’s interest in these influencers’ lives.

Drama channels are taking advantage of this growing interest to garner views and subscribers — and it’s working.

Some of the most well-known drama channels are “shook,” which has 721,000 subscribers, “exposed,” which has 506,000 subscribers and “Tea Spill,” which has 400,000 subscribers.

For better or for worse, these channels’ large fanbases mean they have an unprecedented amount of influence on the YouTube community. Their “exposing” videos often have millions of views and can influence viewers’ opinions on YouTubers. When done right, these videos shine a much needed light on YouTubers’ dubious behavior.

But with popularity comes controversy. As these channels become more viewed and influential, there are more questions being raised about the ethics of these channels and the videos they post.

The first problem is that the content tea channels post usually isn’t their own — rather, they edit together content from other YouTubers. Technically, this is legal according to the Fair Use Law 107, but it still begs the question — do drama channels deserve so many views for content they haven’t created?

The second, and larger, problem is that the content that tea channels post can be considered libelous. The majority of drama channels often have a subjective slant on their videos, manipulating the information they choose to share with viewers or using words or phrases that are opinionated in order to push their own beliefs. While some channels include a disclaimer that their “tea” videos are only opinions, others claim their videos and evidence as fact. This is dangerous because biased “tea” videos may unfairly ruin a YouTubers’ career or reputation.

In some instances, there have even been allegations of blackmail against drama channels. In a video published on Sept. 24 with beauty YouTuber Tati Westbrook, beauty YouTuber Thomas Halbert claimed that a drama channel “extorted” him out of $6,000 to take down a “slanderous” video made about him.

Other times, tea channels’ videos can potentially jeopardize a YouTuber’s personal life and mental health because of the inherently critical nature of the content.

On Sept. 16, drama channel “Here For The Tea” posted the first video of a series on Jaclyn Hill, a popular beauty YouTuber, in collaboration with “Tea Spill.”  The hour-long video detailed Hill’s past scandals, particularly those involving brand deals with makeup companies and alleged scams.

Then, on Sept. 25, “Here For The Tea” tweeted that the series was going to be cancelled, saying, “Although our intent was to share the truth, we cannot possibly move forward given that someone’s life is potentially at risk,” explaining they made their decision because of “alarming” Snapchats Hill posted and a private message from one of her friends, beauty YouTuber Jeffree Star.  

Viewers were not pleased.

“If you go as far as canceling a series because of Jaclyn’s mental health over the videos you post, why is it different from the videos you post about everyone else?” commented viewer Rachael Flood on the original video.

This immense backlash from viewers is revealing of a shift in YouTube culture. Drama and tea channels are intent on picking apart an influencer and providing a compelling narrative to viewers, and viewers, myself included, are eager to devour gossip. Sometimes, this results in unfair demonization and forgetting that the people these videos are being made about are real humans.

Whether they deserve the popularity or not, tea channels have become an integral, albeit controversial, part of the YouTube community, and there is no doubt that they are entertaining. Personally, it’s a way for me to temporarily forget my own problems and drama and indulge my love for “tea.”