YouTubers Going into Hiding Mode as Attack on Crypto Continues
YouTube has continued the attack against crypto-related videos, and the events in the past two days have made some content creators hide their videos, or just abandoned crypto content altogether. Others are calling for a YouTube boycott.
Source: iStock/FotoGraphik
As previously reported, the Google-owned American video-sharing giant has been restricting some crypto-related videos. Many more people based in different countries are alleging that one or more of their videos have been removed and that they’ve received strikes, though they claim they haven’t breached the community guidelines or updated terms of service. Crypto exchange Binance started a Twitter thread for people to link such channels and YouTuber Omar Bham (Crypt0) shared a list of the channels allegedly affected.
Now, Boxmining (196,000 subscribers) and DataDash (328,000 subscribers) channels, for example, show no content, as the creators have set their videos to private. Ivan on Tech channel (211,000 subscribers) also states that the videos are private. Nicholas Merten (he runs DataDash) said he set his videos private “to avoid another unjustified strike.” He too got ‘harmful content’ as the reason. Meanwhile, Cyber MacGyver posted on Reddit that, after receiving a strike recorded as violation and seeing his video removed with no explanation except ‘Inappropriate Content,’ he deleted all of his Bitcoin videos.
Due to the .@YouTube censorship of crypto content, I've put all my videos as "private" for the time being. I'm forced to do this because if the Youtube algorithm tags more public videos, it'll mean the deletion of my channel. pic.twitter.com/TAbX8OPfEO
— Boxmining (@boxmining) December 25, 2019
Some people think, however, that hiding the videos won’t help.
it helps if it's a group of trolls flagging crypto videos abusing the youtube reporting system
— Ivan on Tech – Moralis provides the best web3 APIs (@IvanOnTech) December 25, 2019
as long as we don't know what's going on keeping videos private is the safest way
On the other side, there are those who believe that many of the channels deserved to be removed and that much of it is scam content.
My condolences to the like three legit crypto youtubers (cc @crypto_bobby) but let’s be fair, crypto YouTube wasn’t exactly the pinnacle of discourse
— nic 🌠 carter (@nic__carter) December 25, 2019
Discussions continue as to why this is happening, and without a proper warning or explanation, with many more suggesting this may be a result of targeted mass reporting. Bham writes that “It seems that a reason why YouTube would have to go after crypto channels is any links to external websites/exchanges in video descriptions.” Others speculate that this might be connected to COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection), while Jake Chervinsky, General Counsel at Compound Finance, wondered “if there’s some other regulatory issue here (e.g., related to trading), or if YouTube is hitting false positives on appropriate content.”
Yes, I agree, or it could be a combination of both (a general turn against crypto first initiated by a specific legal issue, like anti-touting or something else), or just the YouTube algorithm hitting false positives in an attempt to take down a specific type of video. 🤷♂️
— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) December 26, 2019
Mati Greenspan, Founder of QuantumEconomics.io, also commented on the situation, finding it weird, but systematic, and saying he’s boycotting YouTube. “My guess is that whatever they’ve done on the front end by removing videos, likely pales in comparison to the back-end updates to the algos and how people find crypto content on the platform,” he said.
As reported, many are calling for an alternative platform to be established, or for an existing one to be used. Binance CEO, Changpenz Zhao, writes: “It may be time the crypto community take a stab at its own blockchain-enabled sensorship-resistent social media platform.”
https://www.twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1209819697841094656?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwBut opinions still greatly differ. For example, Ran NeuNer, CEO of Onchain Capital, a crypto investment and advisory business, says: “YouTube deleting all Crypto content is a MASSIVE blow to the industry. YouTube is the go to place for educational video and the first port of call for new people entering the eco system to learn the basics. As a community we should challenge this formally.”
YouTube did not respond to our request for comment.
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More reactions:
Hi @TeamYouTube with over 100 videos removed & 2 strikes in 24 hours I have still not even received an email from you. This is really scary. We've hired new staff. I have a wife & baby to support. I can't fix the problem if I don't know what I've done or who to communicate with!?
— Alex Saunders 🇦🇺👨🔬 (@AlexSaundersAU) December 26, 2019
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It's not about what YouTube care's about. Could give two 💩s about their viewer stats. It's about unsubscribing from a social platform that attempts to control the way you think. #YTcryptoPurge https://t.co/nLq4bOwiOd
— Mati (@MatiGreenspan) December 25, 2019
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Why is Ran Nuener ,Brian Kelly and Thomas Lee's crypto content safe from deletion on youtube ?
— IamNomad (@IamNomad) December 26, 2019
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While I agree partly, this is still not the answer to why YouTubers are getting censored.
— Carl From The Moon (@TheMoonCarl) December 25, 2019
I never made one single sponsorship on my YouTube channel, but I was also affected in this YouTube purge.
This is a #censorship on #Bitcoin.
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Yup. This isn’t a technology problem.
— Udi Wertheimer (@udiWertheimer) December 26, 2019
People have been trying VERY hard to beat YouTube for many years and failed. Not because their tech wasn’t good enough! They actually had it easy on the tech front.
Crypto bros: “let’s add inefficient tech on top, that should help!” https://t.co/OObfW7uODh
