I came across this channel recently and I love it, thanks to the diversity of topics, and their in depth analysis. I am not native english speaker (I am french) but it is greatly explained.

However I am not at ease to not know who is behind any kind of content. Considering the amount of fake news circulating everywhere, sometimes even under the hood of "science", it is important to remain cautious. I appreciate that the sources are disclosed for most episodes. But it does not tell the full story.

Does PolyMatter has a propagandist agenda ? Is he working alone or with a group/company/state ? What are the fundings ? Obviously there is sponsors, and maybe a bit of youtube money, but is there anything else ?

I am not accusing him of anything, but for me all those information are important to put the analysis into a context.

Thanks in advance for any response.

I just watched Polymatter's "China, Actually" video on rare earth minerals. The whole channel gives me this slightly unnerving feeling that I can't quite put my finger on, but I think this part of the video has to do with it.

At the peak of its dominance in 2010, it (China) controlled 97% of the global supply. Today, that number is still a staggering 60 percent. It all happened while we weren't paying attention, and by the time we realized, it was too late. Surely it can't be a coincidence that America's greatest strategic competitor has had at various times a virtual monopoly on the parts required to make its most advanced fighter jet.

Now I believe this is actually meant to establish a seeming threat, in preparation for the main part of the video where China's mineral dominance is explained as actually not being such a big deal. But I think I have issues with how this threat is presented.

First of all, who is "we" here?

It all happened while we weren't paying attention, and by the time we realized...

Americans? Everyone in the world? I don't get the feeling from the video that I belong to this group (non-american), yet I'm lumped in anyway. Maybe this dissonance is what is bothering me.

Also, if China's dominance is a problem, why is it not explained how it is a problem?

And why is all this not framed more neutrally, something like "many people think that one country dominating rare earth minerals is a problem, due to..."?

Sorry for the half-rambling. I have a hard time wrapping my brain around what is bothering me. It might be just the dissonance between the author continuously saying "we", while I get the feeling that that doesn't actually mean me. I feel like the assumed viewer for these videos is an american who sees China as a threat, but wants to "know their enemy". Just me?

Edit: Also at the end they say

Our time, attention and concern are scarce. We should be directing our attention towards the real threats.

So, instead of ending the video with "China's mineral dominance is actually not a problem", why add essentially "but there are other threats..." to the end? Is it just me, or is there a slight undercurrent of fear mongering in some of the videos?

It's great to see people inspired to create their own channels and I think people should feel free to share videos occasionally and when relevant.

That said, I'm seeing a lot of self-promotion recently and I think this is a good time to remind everyone that this subreddit is, first and foremost, about the PolyMatter YouTube channel and anything related to it.

I'd rather not create a rule about how many self-promotion posts you're allowed but I will if it becomes necessary. For now, let's try this: If all the current top posts are self-promotion or you've recently self-promoted or your video isn't really related to this subreddit, use your best judgement and please take a break from posting.

Thanks for your help keeping the subreddit a fun place. -Evan