MTV draws criticism for 'Hey, white guys' video

pulse

December 20, 2016 7:42 PM

MTV News faced a wave of backlash on Monday and into Tuesday for a video it published online.

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The video, posted on social media, was aimed at offering "2017 resolutions for white guys."

"Hey fellow white guys, it's about to be a new year. And there's a few things we think you could do a little better in 2017," several MTV News employees said to begin the video.

"First off, try to recognize that America was never 'great' for anyone who wasn't a white guy," an MTV News employee continued, an apparent reference to President-elect Donald Trump's campaign slogan.

The individuals in the video continued to tackle other issues, including the Black Lives Matter movement and "mansplaining," among other things.

Hey, white guys: we came up... @ MTV News

The video generated an intense dialogue online, receiving more than 13,000 replies, while critics denounced it, contending that the material was an example of overt racism.

"Judging a group of people by the color of their skin? There is a word for that, right? Oh wait, it's targeting whites, nevermind," one widely circulated reply said.

"Yikes. This is a tad hypocritical, no? We could ALL do a little better. ALL of us. Nobody is exempt," another said.

"If your goal was to change minds, take this video down, because you are doing the opposite of that," another Twitter user wrote.

A representative for MTV News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the past year, MTV has attempted to breathe new life into its news operation. The company brought on several high-profile journalists from established news organizations, such as Ana Marie Cox from The New York Times Magazine and Jamil Smith from The New Republic.

The outlet, like many new-media ventures, considers itself to be the "conversation authority for the millennial audience."

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