Nothing you see on television is true. None of it. The reality programs are all either scripted or so manipulated by producers that they bear no resemblance to real life, the fictional programs don't reveal hidden truths about anything because they began in the imagination of at least one writer. Even the news is a filtered, often morally subjective take on actual events. Youtube, being the father-killing child deity of media's own Green tragedy, is also mostly incapable of depicting the truth, it's just a little better at it than TV is. The closest Youtube ever gets to reality is in the vlog posts and home videos of incompetent people. Their unwillingness to plan and their inability to convey their message in a succinct, entertaining way leaves them with no option but to stand conceptually naked in front of the camera. They're still not telling the whole truth because they know they're being watched, but they're close enough. It's this catch-22 of reality in media that makes Craigslist TV, the Youtube page for everyone's favorite depository of human depravity, such a disingenuous project. It purports to feature the true stories of real craigslist users but it does so in such a slick, dubious way that it just doesn't pass for reality.

Take the above Helper Ninja. I can buy that there was once a guy in what looks like California who made a craigslist ad in which he offered to do odd jobs for free while dressed like a stereotypical movie ninja. Maybe he even got a few responses that weren't bots for porn sites or spammers for Scientology masquerading as organizers of leads groups. Maybe once or twice he went out in the world and made an ass of himself in front of complete strangers in a stunning display of mutual disregard for personal dignity and safety. What I don't believe is that the clearly professional film crew that works for Craigslist TV actually captured any of these moments for us to enjoy.

The only time a reality program has any pretense to truth is if the faces of most participants are blurred and it's clear that no one but the ringer is aware there's even a camera present. People behave differently in front of cameras just like they behave differently in front of a large, live audience. The scrutiny of a mob is a powerful motivator for kindness and civility, which is why there are now cameras set up all around London lest one of those goofy Brits we see on BBC America does anything uncouth. The Craigslist TV videos feature people who have clearly signed a form permitting their depiction on video and who clearly know they're being filmed prior to the capture of any footage. Plainly, if you were the type of person who would be OK with a film crew coming into your home to record some jackass actor pretending to be a ninja with the most annoying voice in history, you're the farthest thing from an anonymous person on the Internet.

On the one hand, I appreciate how much effort goes into the Craigslist TV videos. I'm always in favor of high-quality, at least semi-professional content on Youtube, even if it comes from some other element of pop culture I don't care for. On the other hand, Craigslist TV is yet another attempt to tell a story about the site that differs from what it truly is. Just like the people who run it, I want craigslist to be a place where regular folks can connect with only the slightest wisp of a middle man. I want it to be a bastion of community, free speech and the social ease afforded to us by the Internet. But we all know that's not what craigslist is. No more than George W. Bush is a common joe you can have a beer with, craigslist is not a beacon of hope for human connectivity. Until Craigslist TV does a piece of investigative journalism on scammers or a bold documentary about the rampant cruising scene in its M4M pages, or admits to any one of the many ugly things that keep the List afloat, it'll be just another Youtube fiction.