Food vlogger accuses 'anti-meat people' of censoring feature on lechon

MANILA -- A food vlogger accused "anti-meat people" of mass reporting his episode about Filipino lechon, which resulted in Facebook censoring his video.

Sonny Side, creator of Best Ever Food Review Show, was recently in the Philippines to feature the country's famous lechon.

In his episode, posted on YouTube last August 5 and on Facebook on August 16, Side went to Digos, Davao del Sur, to witness the preparation of seafood-stuffed and chicken-stuffed lechon.

In a post on August 21, Side, a self-proclaimed meat expert, revealed that Facebook has censored his stuffed-lechon video, allegedly due to "violent or graphic content."

"Before this moment, I was fine with civil discourse (and even uncivil discourse) in the comments section, ranging from how terrible my pronunciation is to whether people and cultures are ethical in their meat eating traditions. Sadly, this changes today," Side wrote in his post.

"'Anti-meat people,' or whatever you want to call them, have reported my Stuffed Lechon video, resulting in it getting censored, halting its momentum, killing its views and shares and essentially effecting my bottom line," he added.

According to Side, the purpose of his videos is to "document the most unique food from around the world," adding he is "not there to cast judgment, but to experience life through the eyes and tastebuds of local people."

He also said he will be banning "anyone leaving 'anti-meat' or more importantly anti-culture comments" from his page.

"If this content bothers you, please don't watch it. Click away or block my channel.

"These cultures and their customs do not exist to contradict your worldview. They’ve been around since the beginning of time and they (outside of being inhumane or hunting animals to extinction) deserve your respect or at minimum your tolerance," Side wrote.

Side's seafood-stuffed lechon video has been viewed 1.8 million times on Facebook, with another million views on YouTube.