When Adesuwa clicked “upload” on her very first YouTube video, she was brimming with excitement and hope. Her dream was simple: to share her love for fashion and daily life in Lagos with the world. However, instead of the support she had hoped for, something darker emerged. Within days, her comment section turned into a battlefield.
“Your videos are trash.”
“You’ll never make it.”
One even read: “Just quit already.”
These were just a few of the hurtful comments that flooded Adesuwa’s channel.
The Pressure
At first, Adesuwa laughed off the negative comments, convincing herself that they didn’t matter. However, as the weeks went by, the remarks increased in number. Late at night, she would scroll through her channel and feel the weight of each insult. The enjoyment she once found in creating content had vanished, replaced by a sense of dread. Then came the breaking point: one particularly vicious comment brought her to tears. For the first time, Adesuwa hovered over the “Delete Channel” button.
But then, something stopped her.
Instead of giving up, Adesuwa decided to search for answers. After hours of research, she discovered something that would change everything: YouTube’s hidden anti-bullying tools.
The Tools – Blocking The Trolls
First, she created a Blocked Words list. This feature lets you filter out specific words or phrases from your comment section. She added every cruel insult she had ever received. Overnight, the worst comments vanished. Next, she found the “Hide User from Channel” feature, which was brilliant. This feature lets you block a user from commenting on your channel, but they won’t be notified. Trolls could continue to post their comments, but no one—not even Adesuwa—would ever see them again.
The silence came instantly. For the first time, she felt as if she could breathe.
Next, Adesuwa pinned uplifting comments from her supporters to the top of her videos. Slowly, her community transformed. Positive voices drowned out the negativity. YouTube’s AI actively filtered out most toxic comments with strict moderation enabled. It created a safe and supportive space for her and her audience.
The Result
The result? Six months later, Adesuwa’s channel skyrocketed from 300 to 11,000 subscribers. Even better, the fear was gone. “When I stopped feeding the trolls,” Adesuwa says, “they disappeared. And my real audience finally had the space to grow.”
Today, Adesuwa is proof that no creator has to quit because of bullies. Her message to other African YouTubers — and creators everywhere — is clear:
💡 “Don’t fight them. Don’t quit. Use the tools. Build your community. Your voice is too powerful to be silenced.”
And for every creator facing the same battle Adesuwa once did, her story is a reminder. Trolls may shout loudest, but they are never the ones who win.
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