Update: Sowell video was monetized. Still hope to hear from @teamyoutube what caused the demonetization in the first place and what “context around the video” means. That’s a new piece of the puzzle...https://twitter.com/rubinreport/status/987401513348845571 …
I suspect people reporting abuse feeds into the algorithms. Also, leftists are big into boycotting and banning. It wouldn't surprise me if a bunch of people report every video you put up.