If you don’t have a lot of cash to spare—or if you’ve already donated to organisations fighting racial injustice—you can still financially support Black Lives Matter by watching YouTube videos.
YouTuber Zoe Amira compiled an hour-long video featuring black artists—musicians, poets, and visual artists—with all ad revenue going to bail funds, memorial funds, and advocacy organisations. All you have to do is watch or listen. If you watch, you’ll see slides from visual creators, music videos from singers, and messages from actors, plus where to follow the artists’ work online.
The best way to ensure your view counts is to enable ads, allow them to play, and watch the video all the way through with the volume on. You can turn your device volume down, but don’t mute the video.
YouTube commenters suggest that you can skip ads after 30 seconds or mute the tab the video is playing in (on Chrome, you have to mute the whole site unless you download a third-party extension), but it won’t hurt you to just leave the video running on low in the background—or even click the ad—so it earns the maximum revenue.
You can also watch the video multiple times, but don’t simply replay, or your view may be marked as spam. Instead, follow YouTube users’ advice to watch three to five random videos of varying lengths in between bouts of watching this video, to signal that you’re viewing content organically.
Since Amira posted this video on May 30, others have cropped up pledging to support Black Lives Matter. For example, a 24/7 hip hop stream from Revive Music connects viewers directly with the NAACP through a donation button. And videos like this one featuring black artists and fitness pros also pledge to donate ad revenue to social justice organisations.
If you do have some funds to spare and are looking for ways to support protesters and other people fighting for racial justice, check out our list of resources.
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