Martin Seligman’s famous experiments with dogs involved exposing them to unpredictable and uncontrollable electric shocks. After being subjected to random shocks, the dogs eventually stopped trying to escape, even when escape became possible. This led to the theory of learned helplessness, where individuals (or animals) stop attempting to change their situation because their efforts have been ineffective in the past.

In my opinion, YouTube’s inconsistent moderation is intentional. It fosters learned helplessness in creators, causing them to stop contesting penalties and simply comply. The unpredictability of penalties leads to self-censorship, as creators try to avoid further punishment, even without understanding why their content is penalized. This fear of random consequences drives passive compliance and penalizes "wrong-think".