Course rejected with request for full AI re-write after I uploaded the whole thing!
Update: Onlinecoursehost's reply to my review has inaccurate information. Of my four courses, only one was reject. They approved the three they complain about here and they are currently live (unless they've decided to change that in retaliation). I was also not offered a suggestion of changing specific information although I requested that. Instead, I was invited to rewrite with AI completely repeatedly. I was not invited to submit my credentials. It seems like there's a disconnect in how they are approaching these things, plus I don't think they even read the support conversation I had with the company. The support person I spoke with directly states, "We recognize the importance of your work and the value it brings to those who seek guidance within the shamanic framework." Obviously the person writing the review response doesn't agree. Anyway, long way round, we're pretty saying the same thing that this platform isn't a match for people sharing wisdom that isn't extremely mainstream.
Original review:
Spiritual, Self-Help, and Alternative Health Creators: Beware of OnlineCourseHost.com’s AI based censorship. My course was rejected unless I agree to re-write the whole thing using their AI.
I’m a shamanic practitioner with 25 years of experience who tried to publish my course on energetic protection from spirit attachment and negative energy on OnlineCourseHost.com. The platform blocked it at the final “Publish” step — after I’d spent significant time, energy, and money building it. I tried to work with the helpdesk for a manual review, thinking human eyes on it would allow for context, which I provided.
Their automated AI toxicity checker flagged it for promoting “pseudoscience,” even though the topic of energetic protection is recognized in many spiritual traditions and widely discussed in books and online searches. Despite adding detailed disclaimers stating my course is educational and not a replacement for mental health care, the platform repeatedly urged me to rewrite my entire course using their AI tool to pass their toxicity checks. I refused, because it would strip out the precise language and nuance essential to my work. Even after incorporating exact disclaimers they suggested, they returned to insisting on a full AI rewrite. Plus, the fact that they seemed to be using AI to write their help email responses seemed to add a bit of insult to injury.
The core issue seems to be that certain spiritual and shamanic topics simply aren’t welcome on the platform unless rephrased by AI— but they give no warning about this upfront.
If you create courses on spiritual, alternative, or non-mainstream topics, be very cautious. You could invest heavily only to find your work can’t be published unless you let AI rewrite it — potentially losing your authentic voice and message.
If you teach mainstream topics — business, tech, hobbies — this platform may work well for you. I wish I’d known all this before committing to the platform. I’ve had no issue with this on any other LMS platform I’ve explored. This AI based censorship seems to be only an OnlineCourseHost.com thing.
Vasco_OnlineCourseHost
Jun 29, 2025Hi Katie—thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns. We recognise the effort that goes into creating a course, and we understand your frustration.
Regarding the use of an AI automated checker, this is fundamental, due to the large volume of courses. In our experience the AI checker is over 99% of the times accurate. But if creators appeal, we are happy to manually review, like we did in your case.
In general, creators that stay clear of the following content categories have nothing to fear: promotion of illegal activities, stolen content, medical and legal misinformation, potential exploitation of vulnerable individuals, make money fast content, hacking (white hat or not), promotion of self-harm, black-hat SEO practices or pornography.
Now regarding your concrete case.
Your materials ask learners to pay $47 for “Free Yourself From Entities,” $97 for “Shamanic Weight Loss,” $97 for “The Energy Body Illumination,” and $197 for “Money Mastery for Modern Times.” Each course promises concrete results in areas that carry real-world consequences:
- Mental-health and trauma relief (“clear anxiety, depression, addiction, and trauma by removing entities”).
- Medical and nutritional outcomes (“release excess weight through energy work”).
- Enhanced emotional wellbeing (“heal and protect your energy body to boost vitality”).
- Improved personal finances (“master money in modern times through shamanic tools”).
When a course charges significant fees for outcomes in mental health, physical health, weight management, or personal finance, our policy requires the instructor to hold recognised professional qualifications (licensed therapist, registered dietitian, certified financial advisor, and so on).
Disclaimers alone are not enough, because people who are in pain, struggling with debt, or desperate for change often read a price tag as proof of legitimacy. If the promised results do not appear, they can lose both money and precious time that could have been spent on evidence-based help, or worse even worsen their conditions significantly due to wrong or ineffective advice.
During the review you were offered two options: supply verifiable credentials or remove the clinical and financial promises from the sales pages and lesson content. We did not receive the requested credentials, and the outcome-based language remained unchanged.
Should you decide to provide the relevant qualifications—or revise the material so it no longer makes therapeutic, medical, or financial claims—we will be happy to take another look. Until then, we must prioritise learner safety and cannot publish the courses in their current form.
So in other words, and just to be clear: we are not opposed to religious content, as long as it does not cross the boundary into medical, financial and legal advise, or in advise in any other area that could potentially significantly impact the learner's well-being in general.
Thank you for understanding.