Hank Green defends his participation as one of three YouTube video creators selected to interview the president after the State of the Union. The interviews received ridicule on cable news and as Green says, “even new media companies like Vice were dismissive.” Green notes, however, “there’s a problem that needs to be solved and this is clearly an attempt to solve it.” “[Young people] don’t trust news organizations because news organizations have given them no reason to be trusting,” writes Green. “…People trust us [YouTube creators] because we’ve spent years developing a relationship with them. We have been scrutinized and found not evil. Our legitimacy comes from honesty, not from cultural signals or institutions.”