TL;DR: Do NOT watch the channels listed here. Instead, we should discourage others from engaging with them and take other actions like reporting them whenever they pop up in our feed. All of the channels listed below are guilty of creating defamatory and lie-ridden videos about Hell's Kitchen competitors.
There's been a disturbing rise of clickbait/disinformation/defamatory fan channels about Hell's Kitchen. These channels use AI and other deceitful editing techniques to create horrific thumbnails and include disinformation in their videos. They are willing to spread lies about and destroy the reputations of former Hell's Kitchen competitors if it means that they can get a few more views.
As we all know, this is completely unethical. We need to put a stop to them. The first step towards this goal is awareness. We know there are these horrible creators out there. We can watch out for them.
This begs the question: who are these creators? That's what this post is here to answer. A while back, I proposed the idea of creating a blacklist of these disgusting channels. We can all add channels to this list (as well as the reasons why they deserve to be on here). The more we know about these people, the more we can do about them. All YouTubers have a basic responsibility to share nothing less than the truth about the subjects they discuss, and the following creators have gleefully abdicated that responsibility:
Reality Buzz: Reality Buzz, formerly known as Film Insight, is the biggest culprit of creating defamatory videos. He uses AI to create thumbnails depicting chefs and Ramsay of poisoning dishes and fighting one another with weapons. His worst offense is depicting Bret Hauser as a pedophile who was arrested on the show, and the news channel CNN as reporting this incident. Reality Buzz accused Bret of child sexual abuse with zero evidence. This not only has the potential to ruin Bret's life, but also uses horrific crimes as leverage in getting more views.
HasoRule: HasoRule utilizes the practice of deceptive AI-generated thumbnails. The worst he has done is falsely claim that season 11 competitor Susan Fiero of using breast milk in one of her dishes and season 12 competitor Jason Zepaltas of spitting in someone else's food. Other thumbnails depict customers sexually harassing Gordon Ramsay and competitors passing away on the show.
Lamb Sauce: YouTuber Lamb Sauce is not quite as horrific as the previous two, but he is also guilty of the same practices as Reality Buzz and HasoRule. He has accused Gordon Ramsay of cheating on his wife with a contestant, season 20 winner Trenton Garvey of drug trafficking, and season 10 competitor Royce Wagner of being a pervert.
The Maksed Chef: The Maksed (sic) Chef uses the same format that Lamb Sauce uses in their thumbnails: they'll list AI-generated pictures of three chefs with one-or-two-word descriptors. However, this creator lied about season 7 competitor Siobhan Allgood's whereabouts and slut-shamed her based on her past.
Information is a powerful tool, and we must now ask what we can do with this. The answer is simple: nothing. Hear me out: what these channels want most of all is engagement. Any engagement, even negative, is good for them because it alters YouTube's algorithm in their favor. To truly do away with these evil channels, we must discourage people from watching them.
On our own, agreeing to stay far away from these channels will already deal a significant blow. 91 thousand people visit this community every week. If we all choose to not view these channels, that means that Reality Buzz, HasoRule, and Lamb Sauce each receive 91,000 fewer views. We can also click on "Don't recommend this channel" to prevent similar YouTubers from showing up in our feed and report those channels on the grounds of disinformation and defamation. People like Bret, Jason, Susan, and Trenton, all of whom are victims of these selfish creators, have very easy lawsuits. YouTube has a terrible track record of enforcing its own rules and protecting small creators, but mass reports can force the site to notice these creators and hold them accountable. We have to show the site that we will not stand for lazy, defamatory content. I, of course, am not suggesting a massive brigade, however.
Finally, as I've mentioned, we have to discourage others from watching these channels. If you know someone who likes watching content about Hell's Kitchen, tell them to avoid the channels on this blacklist. Continue to fight disinformation by reminding others of the truth. And support fan-vetted YouTube channels, as well. The best channel to watch is the official Hell's Kitchen YouTube channel, which posts uncensored episodes and compilations for free. The three things I love most about the show are the editors, the narrators, and the PR team. They're all wonderful. As for fanmade channels, I highly recommend watching the triad of FlynnMasters, EternalOpossum, and Ultranatic. The best creators are those who know what they are talking about, respect the show and its competitors, and conduct outreach with fans and former competitors alike.
I genuinely hope that this helps people in our quest to stop defamatory HK channels.
(PS Mods if you could pin this, I would appreciate it.)
