On Wednesday, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced in a blog post that Google and YouTube will donate fifteen million dollars to assist the Los Angeles community and support content creators affected by wildfires.
It was said on the blog that the contributions will be distributed to local relief organizations such as Emergency Network Los Angeles, the American Red Cross, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, and the Institute for Nonprofit News.
Once YouTube’s offices in Los Angeles can safely reopen, impacted creators can use the company’s production facilities “to recover and rebuild their businesses” and access community events.
Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, tweeted on X, “To all our employees, the YouTube creator community, and everyone in Los Angeles, please prioritize your safety. We are here to support you all.”
TikTok is set to be banned this Sunday, prompting content creators to encourage their followers to connect on alternative social media platforms. This action occurs just days ahead of the ban’s implementation.
One rival to TikTok is YouTube Shorts, a feature for short videos on YouTube. Additional competitors include Instagram Reels, owned by Meta, and Rednote, a fast-growing Chinese app called Xiahongshu.
Mohan, “In times like these, we see the power of communities coming together to support each other,” and “the strength and resilience of the YouTube community are unlike any other.”
YouTube’s contributions align with those of many other corporations in Los Angeles, which have pledged multi-million dollar donations to support employees and citizens affected by the fires.
Meta announced a donation of $4 million, which would be split between CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the firm. Additionally, both Netflix and Comcast have committed to donating $10 million to various humanitarian organizations.
