You Can Lie to YouTube, But You Can’t Lie to YOU

A mic, a camera, and a couple of lights can make anybody look important and put together. None of that can save you from yourself.

I have been watching and paying close attention to a few HBCU driven podcasts lately. Specifically those connected to people who graduated from, attended, or are loosely affiliated with an HBCU. Something keeps standing out to me. Some of these hosts never really experienced ups and downs before college. Some were never given attention. Some never faced real adversity. Some never had friends who would pull them to the side and say, “Nah, you trippin.” And even if they did have friends, they were not the kind who would bring them back to reality.

Being a host of an HBCU based podcast should not be about clout, popularity, or aesthetics. HBCUs were built to develop people. They built character, discipline, accountability, and community. You did not just get educated. You got checked. By classmates. By professors. By the culture. By life.

For some people, YouTube is the first place they have ever felt seen. It is the first time they have felt loved. It is the first time they have received attention that was not conditional. I understand that feeling. It can be powerful. The problem is that some people confuse attention with growth.

For the first time in their life, they believe a mic, a camera, and studio lights can cover up their shortcomings. That includes immaturity, insecurity, lack of depth, and lack of accountability. They think production value replaces personal work. It does not. Growth requires self awareness. Self awareness does not always get likes.

The algorithm will gas you up if you let it. Likes, shares, subscribers, and comments can absolutely blow your head up, especially if you have never had that kind of attention before. If nobody around you is grounded enough or brave enough to tell you the truth, you start believing the hype. You start thinking YouTube is who you are.

We all know mainstream media never really paid attention to us. Now we have the ability to create our own platforms, control our own narratives, and represent our schools and our culture. However, some people have used StreamYard, YouTube, and X to constantly go back and forth with one another like WWE professional wrestling. Conversations go far beyond the fields and the courts. Character gets attacked. Individuals get attacked. We have to do better.

I can only speak for myself. For me, it is just another day in the park. The podcast does not define me. It never has. It simply magnifies who I have always been. I have the same values. I have the same flaws that I am still working on. I have the same accountability. I have the same people who can check me and I will listen. The mic did not change me. It just made me louder.

Some people found themselves through the mic. Others are hiding behind it. You can lie to YouTube all day. You can curate clips. You can edit out the cracks. You can build a persona that looks good on screen. When the cameras go off and the comments stop refreshing and it is just you sitting with your thoughts, you cannot lie to yourself.

The real question is this. Are you somebody you actually respect? Or are you just somebody who learned how to look good on camera?

As HBCU podcasters, let’s take a moment to reflect on our purpose. Our mission should always be bigger than clicks and views. When we focus on quality storytelling that uplifts our schools and our culture, we all win.

T. Gooden