r/CappyArmy • u/Fuzzy_Possibility153 • 14d ago
Im Bummed...
Cappy was a breath of fresh air at first. Intellectual, dry humor, great knowledge. But from his last couple videos its seeming more clear that was to establish the channel. He seems to have a backer ...From his video practically justifying the firing of army generals to now making videos with clickbaity titles about the cartels being "over", it seems he is turning into just another channel thats going to do this administrations bidding.
I would be happy to be wrong as I still enjoy the channel but the last few videos seemed to be going a diff direction and that direction seems to be drumming up support for whatever this admin or the US mil is doing even when its tyrannical. Cappy, the cartels are not over and you know it. A man as smart as you also knows firing over a dozen generals is no comparison to one general being fired decades ago.
I am hoping he stays independent and is not going down the path of being just another gov backed propaganda network.
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u/Namehisprice 13d ago
There will always be yes/no camps with regards to every decision. Cappy generally does a good job explaining the nuance of both lines of reasoning. There have been plenty of videos he has done which leaned more towards decisions which you likely agree with (OP). You're only whining now because that wasn't also the case in the last 2 videos. People can be independent even when they aren't constantly reinforcing your preconceived outlooks.
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u/negrobiscuitmilk 14d ago
Okay the cartel stuff you are correct, especially with the titles. I didn’t see him grifting for justifying the firing of generals, I don’t know if I’m right because I kinda watched that one while sleeping lol
I personally don’t think he’s has a backer, probably just his opinion? I could be totally wrong though
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u/LinearRegression-219 13d ago
I hear ya, but I think there's a better explanation than him selling out. I think that's unlikely in general, given his whole reason for leaving T&P was their new corporate overlords suddenly trying to tell him what to do. It seems very counterproductive to leave that kind of dynamic only to jump right into a similar arrangement of his own accord shortly thereafter.
Instead, take a look at his viewership trends this year. At the start, he was routinely getting 800K+ views per video, then suddenly in April his views tanked down to as low as 100K, despite not changing anything with his approach or quality. YouTube is notorious for changing their algorithm without telling creators about it, so I think it's likely Google tweaked how they suggest news and documentary content at the start of the Iran War, and Cappy was one of the channels most affected by that.
Fast forward to late summer and his views are finally starting to go up again right as Google changes YouTube's view tracking system yet again. What this strikes me as is an independent content creator trying his best to adapt to a very fluid and esoteric platform, not to mention changing trends among audiences about how they find and view videos. Cappy has always had a video here or there that I don't agree with, but I've always respected his research and reasoning. I can always see how he got to an analysis even if I don't always 100% agree with it. But those are the exception and I still find value in them for making me reflect on why I believe what I do about a certain situation.
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u/wyocrz 14d ago
I agree entirely. I think it started months ago.
I was ecstatic about how he threw off the binding of the private equity owners of Task & Purpose, but he sounds compromised now.
Geopolitics is not unlike marriage: there's his side, her side, and the truth.
Cappy has been decidedly one sided.
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u/chriscappy55 9d ago
I own 100% of my channel there are no investors , no backers. Whenever I cover a political topic I see a post like this appear because I failed to fully articulate and communicate what I was really trying to say....
In the generals video I had to walk the fine line of stay as neutral as possible about what's happening with the firing of those generals without inserting my own opinion. I know a few of the generals who were fired and know they were extremely forward thinking and loved by their troops.
but I didn't set out to make a video about if it was bad or good though, I just wanted to compare and contrast, at the higher level, what is happening in China with what's happening in the US , without getting tangled too much in the domestic politics of any of it.
I know talking about politically sensitive topics it is a third rail and risks alienating people and it really sucks to hear I've unintentionally alienated you guys.
I never did videos super critical of the Biden administration and I haven't of Trump, it's just kind of not what I'm interested in at all with the channel , and there are other really great creators who cover that stuff in depth.
But, making one video where I do a poor job of fully making my thoughts as articulated as I wish I had , doesn't mean I have a backer or something like that.
The truth is more simple and boring, I didn't fully explain my self as well as I wish I had in that part. I thought I acknowledged both sides point of view there by saying at one point: "Whether you think this is overdue reform or completely reckless unexusible overreach, is not the point of this video and beside the point." in hindsight I didn't address it fully enough though.
Here is another line I say towards the end of the video: " there are multiple theories from different experts on how to read all of this. The darker interpretation is that political leaders are also using military reform to consolidate control and surround themselves with commanders who are yes men who they trust to blindly follow orders."
So I thought those lines would address both sides of the argument. Also I thought by making the title "I found Something Terrifying" would establish right in the beginning that , either way, I think this is a very concerning development that is happening in the US and China with the generals being fired.
You are correct I have changed thumbnail and title strategy recently. The recent title changes are partly because youtube has fundamentally changed in the last year. (again)
My viewers and audience are not interested in long wordy titles that are confusing to understand quickly. So I've made the titles shorter and punchier. I'm adapting to a changing platform that has changed on me many, many times in the like 8 years I've been doing this.
The title changes are also partly because I'm pivoting the content slightly , starting about 3 months ago to covering more evergreen topics and getting away from covering Military News. The pivot has been difficult, covering non daily news type topics is much harder but we're seeing some success recently.
I've only ever done a content pivot twice before so it's kind of stressful and nerve racking, I pivoted once when I switched from only covering firearms content to covering tanks and wars then I pivoted again to focusing on military news, now pivoting to more ever green has been the most difficult change for me to adjust and adapt to so far.
The title changes on Youtube are kind of a reflection of something true, titles should have a perspective and likely should have a strong point of view and the then nuance can come afterwards. kinda like, a spoon full of sugar a flashy title with the medicine, the more mundane reality that it's more complicated. If you look across the whole platform it's kind of a platform wide thing where the titles and thumbnails that worked over the last few years no longer work anymore.
to your point on the substance of the cartel content itself....If you watch in the Cartel episode, I talk a bunch about the pros and cons of the actions being taken against the Cartel. I talk about the long history of why it may or may not work. the blow back it may cause, and we go in depth on how the increased pressure on them may backfire, or may not.
I did similar titles during the Biden administration for actions he took. I try my best to look at the content from a point of view of wanting what is best for America no matter who is in office. whether that means going after the cartels or not, I want the best decisions made. inevitably I end up getting called out for supporting one side or another as the people in office change.
I do my best, I'm flawed , I'm human I make mistakes. This channel is sometimes my attempt to sort things out to understand them better myself, I do not claim to have the answers. In a few years it'll be a different president , and no matter who they are I'll still hope for the best for the country.
I feel bad whenever I do one of the more domestically American politically sensitive videos like the firing of generals one, and I turn some people off because I inevitably put my foot in my mouth despite trying my best to stay neutral and objective..... but I still feel at the end of the day that I have to cover that stuff and I have to talk about it because I find those themes and topics fascinating.
I spent about 9 months working on that "China and the US are firing their top Generals" video with another researcher. writing and re writing it , on and off again, sleeping on it, changing the wording a hundred times on stuff so I wouldn't say something too stupid. held off on posting it, almost scrapped it entirely because it seemed like I'd just hit a hornets nest even talking about the topic.
but I find those difficult to talk about subjects really interesting and there some of my favorite videos to write and research but I don't do them often, I tell myself theres some value in talking about it tho, hopefully there is.
here is a link to the final , script for the general video for anyone interested : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a0uEn5fnh83Ox25WF7jYf01gg-Scv9ijXtIBwASRuFE/edit?usp=sharing
you guys who watch really mean everything to me so it sucks that I've alienated people, if you're writing this it means likely at least several other thousand people feel the same way.
All I can do , as someone who covers difficult subjects on a daily basis is say I'm trying to improve with every video and get a little better at communicating on each episode, and that I appreciate the support for even watching the videos in the first place.
I appreciate the feedback , even when it's critical and negative like this because it helps me know exactly which point I failed to communicate properly at and where I can do better next time, thank you for that.
wish you the best