Carlos Maza

Carlos Manuel Maza (born April 9, 1988[1]) is an American video producer who started the Vox series Strikethrough. Columbia Journalism Review described him as "Brian Stelter meets NowThis".[2]

Carlos Maza
Maza in 2018
Born (1988-04-09) April 9, 1988
Alma materWake Forest University
OccupationVideo producer, political activist
Websitewww.carlosmmaza.com

Biography

Maza was born in 1988. His parents were immigrants from Cuba, and he had three younger siblings – a sister and two half brothers. Maza frequently played video games as a child, and his mother described him as smart but introverted. He attended Christopher Columbus High School, where he joined the debate club. The debate club gave Maza confidence to speak out and be himself, and he later described it as "the most meaningful thing that's ever happened to me".[2]

Maza graduated from Wake Forest University in 2010 with a BA in political science.[3] He worked at Media Matters for America from 2011 to 2016, where he was a research fellow and created a video series on media criticism.[4][5] At Media Matters, he was also the LGBT Program Director, in which capacity he focused on rebutting what he described as anti-LGBT myths.[3][6] During this time, he created his Twitter handle, "@gaywonk".[2] He then began working at Vox Media, where he successfully proposed Strikethrough and began producing and hosting the series.[2][7] Strikethrough was canceled in July 2019. Maza left Vox Media and, in February 2020, started a media-critique channel on YouTube.[8][9]

Harassment by Steven Crowder

In June 2019, YouTube investigated conservative commentator Steven Crowder for repeatedly using racist and homophobic slurs against Maza over the course of multiple years in videos reacting to Strikethrough.[10][11][12] Maza said that Crowder's fans have doxxed and harassed him as a result of Crowder's videos.[10][11] Crowder responded that his videos are meant as comedy and that he is opposed to doxxing and harassment.[13][14][15] Four days later, YouTube stated that Crowder's language was "hurtful" but did not violate its policies and would not be removed from the site.[16][15] The decision drew considerable criticism and, on the next day, YouTube decided to suspend Crowder's ability to run ads or monetize his videos until Crowder addresses "all of the issues" with his channel.[17][18][19]

Personal life

Maza is openly gay.[20] In 2017, the LGBT newspaper Washington Blade named him one of the 20 most eligible singles in the Washington, D.C. area.[21]

References
  1. "Carlos Maza on Instagram: "I turned 31 today. It's been a really intense year: big victories, crushing setbacks, and tons of surprises. I'm grateful for all of it."". Instagram. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  2. Ray, Justin (March 12, 2018). "Amid a sea of voices, Vox's Carlos Maza breaks through". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  3. "Deacon Spotlight: Carlos Maza". Alumni Personal & Career Development Center. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  4. Chang, Clio; Shephard, Alex (December 19, 2016). "What Happens to Media Matters in a Post-Hillary World?". New Republic. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  5. "Home". Carlos Maza Website. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  6. Miller, Jake (July 1, 2015). "After Supreme Court win, LGBT activists look beyond same-sex marriage". CBS News. p. 4. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  7. Gajanan, Mahita (June 5, 2019). "YouTube Says Homophobic Harassment Doesn't Violate Its Policies". Time.
  8. Alexander, Julia (January 31, 2020). "Carlos Maza is back on YouTube and ready to fight". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
  9. Roose, Kevin (February 12, 2020). "A Thorn in YouTube’s Side Digs In Even Deeper." The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  10. Yandoli, Krystie Lee (June 4, 2019). "Vox Host Carlos Maza Is Blasting YouTube For Not Adequately Enforcing Its Hate Speech Policies". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  11. Hamilton, Isobel Asher (June 5, 2019). "YouTube is refusing to punish a star with millions of fans after he hurled homophobic slurs at a journalist". Business Insider. Insider Inc. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  12. "YouTube's 'confused' response to anti-gay slurs". BBC News. June 5, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  13. Asarch, Steven (May 31, 2019). "Carlos Maza, a journalist for Vox, speaks out about the harassment he's received from Steven Crowder and his fans". Newsweek. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  14. Frazin, Rachel (June 1, 2019). "YouTube investigating conservative commentator Steven Crowder". The Hill. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  15. Goggin, Benjamin (June 9, 2019). "YouTube's week from hell: How the debate over free speech online exploded after a conservative star with millions of subscribers was accused of homophobic harassment". Business Insider. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  16. Hern, Alex (June 5, 2019). "YouTube says homophobic abuse does not violate harassment rules". The Guardian. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  17. Bote, Joshua (June 6, 2019). "YouTube pulls ads from right-wing pundit after journalist alleges anti-gay harassment". USA Today.
  18. Rosenburg, Eli (June 4, 2019). "A right-wing YouTuber hurled racist, homophobic taunts at a gay reporter. The company did nothing". Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  19. Nett, Danny (June 8, 2019). "Is YouTube Doing Enough To Stop Harassment Of LGBTQ Content Creators?". NPR. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  20. Horgan, Richard (August 28, 2012). "Gay Blogger Goes Undercover at Anti-Same Sex Marriage Conference". Adweek. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  21. "Most Eligible Singles: Carlos Maza". Washington Blade. February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
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