YouTube on Friday said it was issuing a temporary monetization suspension to creator Alia Shelesh, known as SSSniperwolf on the platform, after allegations that she doxxed fellow creator Jack Douglass.
The news comes after an internet feud between Shelesh and Douglass escalated last weekend in an incident that Douglass described as making him fear for his safety.
Douglass, who goes by Jacksfilms on YouTube, has been vocal about his criticism of SSSniperwolf — claiming in a recent video that Shelesh uses viral content from TikTok without gaining explicit permission from or giving credit to the original creators. Douglass has also mocked her videos on his parody channel JJJacksfilms. Shelesh has denied accusations of copying others — writing in a June post on X that “90% of what I upload are my ideas.”
Douglass, who has almost 5 million subscribers on YouTube, said that on Saturday, Shelesh showed up at his home, posted an Instagram story and tagged his account. In Shelesh’s Instagram story, which NBC News reviewed before it was removed, she wrote “let’s talk like adults.” It was shared to her more than 5 million Instagram followers.
In response, Douglass posted to X about the “creepy, gross, violating” behavior, and called on YouTube to demonetize Shelesh or remove her from the platform altogether. Shelesh initially defended herself against Douglass’ accusations. “I have no idea how to Dox,” she wrote on her Instagram story, adding that Douglass had “been harassing me for months then plays victim.”
In the wake of the incident, creators online expressed renewed concern over how platforms should respond when digital disputes cross the line into real-life danger. Some criticized YouTube, claiming they were allegedly protecting Shelesh. Others urged their followers to keep “spamming” YouTube with complaints against Shelesh.
Much of the criticism centered around concerns that doxxing, the sharing of personal information online without consent, can lead to more serious acts like swatting, which is when someone falsifies a police report in order to have authorities show up at someone’s home. Swatting can be at best humiliating and at worst lethal. It’s become a concern across many social media platforms, including Twitch.
Neither Douglass nor Shelesh responded to requests for comment.
Shelesh on Friday issued an apology in a post on X, writing that her recent actions are “inexcusable.” She addressed Douglass directly, saying she would reach out to him so they could “connect and communicate respectfully.”
“Jacksfilm, while we certainly don’t see eye to eye and have our differences, I am sorry for reacting the way I did when I should’ve taken the opportunity to show young creators how adults and professionals resolve conflict by communicating directly, respectfully, and privately; not for views or content, but a meaningful example of how conflict should be solved,” she wrote.
She thanked YouTube for what she described as holding her accountable by temporarily demonetizing her platform.
“I deserve it, respect the decision and appreciate the opportunity to learn and grow from a true lapse in judgement,” she wrote.
YouTube did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
In its post on X responding to the initial criticism on Friday, the platform cited its Creator Responsibility policies, which state creators “should remain responsible both on and off the platform. If we see that a creator’s on- and/or off-platform behavior harms our users, community, employees or ecosystem, we may take action to protect the community.”
“Off platform actions that put others’ personal safety at risk harm our community & the behavior on both sides isn’t what we want on YT,” YouTube wrote in the post on X. “Hoping everyone helps move this convo to a better place.”
