Frequently Asked Questions

OdyseeWatchdog is an independent accountability project that documents content on Odysee which violates the platform's own Community Guidelines and/or applicable laws. We catalog violations, provide evidence from published research, and help users report illegal content to the appropriate authorities including the FBI, Europol, and local law enforcement.

Odysee is a video-sharing platform built on the LBRY blockchain protocol. Unlike YouTube, content published to Odysee is also stored on the decentralized LBRY network, making it extremely difficult to permanently remove even after takedown. Odysee positioned itself as a 'free speech' alternative to YouTube, which attracted many creators who were deplatformed from mainstream services for extremism, hate speech, and other violations.

When content is uploaded to Odysee, it is published to the LBRY blockchain and distributed across decentralized nodes worldwide. Even if Odysee removes a video from their website (odysee.com), the underlying data persists on the LBRY network and can be accessed through alternative clients like the LBRY Desktop app. This creates a layer of permanence that traditional platforms like YouTube don't have — making proactive moderation even more critical.

Published research from the SPLC, GNET, ISD Global, The Guardian, and CheckFirst has documented terrorism propaganda (including content from ISIS, al-Qaeda affiliates, and designated terrorist organizations), neo-Nazi recruitment material, white supremacist content, targeted harassment and doxxing campaigns, incitement to violence, and content monetized through Odysee's LBC tipping system. OdyseeWatchdog also monitors for drug trafficking tutorials, weapons manufacturing guides, financial fraud schemes, cybercrime instructions, human trafficking, animal cruelty, and self-harm promotion.

The SPLC documented $336,000 in Hyperchat tips from 4,557 donors to 113 extremist channels. The top earners: 'Blackpilled' (Devon Stack, neo-fascist novelist) earned $65,362; 'Uncle Sven' (Jesse Dunstan, National Justice Party affiliate) earned $33,676 — with one donor giving $22,300 in a single tip; Robert 'Azzmador' Ray (wanted Charlottesville fugitive) earned $33,023 while evading law enforcement. Jon Minadeo of the Goyim Defense League earned $7,000+/month. Odysee takes a 5% platform fee — meaning it profited approximately $16,800 directly from extremist content. The highest-earning single video generated $6,637 from 109 donations. The actual total is likely far higher, as many LBC blockchain transactions are difficult to attribute.

Yes. Odysee publishes Community Guidelines that explicitly prohibit terrorism, violent extremism, targeted harassment, doxxing, threats, hate speech targeting protected groups, content that sexualizes minors, and incitement to violence. The core problem is enforcement: multiple independent research organizations have documented that Odysee consistently fails to enforce these rules. Reports from users often go unanswered, and content that clearly violates the stated policies remains live for weeks, months, or indefinitely.

We provide a detailed step-by-step guide on our How to Report page. In short: (1) Report directly to Odysee via email at hello@odysee.com or the in-app report button to create a paper trail, (2) Report to the FBI's IC3 portal (ic3.gov) or tips.fbi.gov for US federal crimes, (3) Report to NCMEC's CyberTipline for CSAM, (4) Report to Europol's EU IRU for terrorism content, and (5) Contact your local law enforcement for harassment, threats, and stalking.

Odysee can remove content from their website (odysee.com), but they cannot remove it from the underlying LBRY blockchain. Once published, LBRY content is distributed across decentralized nodes and can be accessed through other LBRY-compatible clients. This is why proactive moderation before content spreads is so important — and why Odysee's slow or absent response to reports is particularly harmful.

No. OdyseeWatchdog is a completely independent project. We have no affiliation with Odysee Inc., LBRY Inc., or any other platform or organization. We have no financial relationship with any party. Our sole purpose is documenting moderation failures and helping affected users take action through proper legal channels.

No. We do not host, embed, mirror, or redistribute any content from Odysee. We only reference publicly accessible URLs for accountability and reporting purposes. All content remains on Odysee's own servers and the LBRY blockchain.

OdyseeWatchdog uses the public Lighthouse search API (Odysee's own search infrastructure) to scan for content matching known violation keywords across 14 categories. The scanner runs daily, uses polite request timing (20-second delays between queries), and only searches public metadata — titles and descriptions. Results are merged with our existing database and published to the dashboard. This approach respects Odysee's terms of service while enabling systematic documentation.

Prioritize your personal safety. Document everything: take screenshots with timestamps, archive pages using archive.org's Wayback Machine, and save any LBC tip amounts visible on harassing content. File a report with Odysee (hello@odysee.com) to create a paper trail, then contact your local law enforcement — they can file formal complaints, issue preservation orders, and pursue charges under cyberstalking and harassment laws. Consider consulting with a lawyer, especially if the harassment includes doxxing, threats, or stalking. You can also submit evidence to OdyseeWatchdog to help us document the pattern.

Yes. Our Submit Evidence form does not require an email address. The email field is optional and only used if we need to follow up for additional details. We will never share your identity or contact information.

Submissions are reviewed for inclusion in our flagged content database. If the content clearly violates Odysee's Community Guidelines or applicable law, it will be added to the public dashboard with appropriate category flags. We do not file reports on your behalf — our goal is to document patterns and make it easier for individuals and organizations to file their own reports with the appropriate authorities.

Yes. OdyseeWatchdog only references publicly accessible content on Odysee. We do not access private content, bypass any access controls, or violate any terms of service. Documenting publicly available information for accountability and reporting purposes is protected activity. We include a legal disclaimer on every page of our site.

As of June 2024, Odysee is owned by Forward Research, an Arweave blockchain incubator co-founded by Sam Williams (CEO) and Sebastian Campos Groth (COO). Julian Chandra serves as Odysee's CEO — the same executive whose leaked 2021 email stated 'just being a white nationalist or nazi isn't grounds for removal.' The platform's original founder, Jeremy Kauffman, created LBRY in 2015 and Odysee in 2020. Kauffman was expelled from the Free State Project board in 2023 for amplifying white supremacist content and was visited by the FBI in 2024 after a post about murdering Kamala Harris. See our Leadership Accountability page for detailed profiles.

The documented pattern across 18 independent investigations is consistent non-response. The Guardian reported that user complaints were met with internal guidance to ignore them ('we don't need to provide our judgements to the people that complain'). The Miami New Times received no response when asking about neo-Nazi Jon Minadeo's channel. The SPLC documented 165 extremist channels continuing to operate and earn money. Odysee's own CEO wrote that being a 'nazi isn't grounds for removal.' No organization that has investigated the platform has reported a meaningful response to extremist content reports.

YouTube employs thousands of content moderators, uses automated detection systems (including the GIFCT hash-sharing database for terrorism content), and typically removes violating content within hours. Odysee has no known automated detection, no transparency reporting, and documented response times measured in weeks to never. The SPLC found 50,459 extremist videos on Odysee across 165 channels — content that would be removed within hours on YouTube. Reuters documented that the top search results for the Buffalo mass shooting on Odysee were massacre denial videos. Media Bias/Fact Check rates Odysee as 'Low Credibility' while YouTube maintains higher credibility ratings despite its own moderation challenges.

Arweave is a blockchain protocol designed for permanent data storage — once something is stored on Arweave, it cannot be deleted or modified by anyone, ever. This is what they call the 'permaweb.' Forward Research (Arweave's incubator) acquired Odysee in June 2024 and announced plans to migrate Odysee's content to Arweave. This means extremist content that is already nearly impossible to remove from the LBRY blockchain would become literally, permanently irrevocable on Arweave. Julian Chandra announced users would get 'complete autonomy and self governance with no compromises' — 'no compromises' meaning no moderation, forever.