- Nearly a dozen and counting YouTube accounts have had mass amounts of cryptocurrency videos removed.
- A channel called Sam Smith Truth has been pushing for the removal of the videos on his own platform.
YouTube has been making several changes to their policies lately, and cryptocurrency-focused channels seem to be on the chopping block. A minimum of eight channels confirmed and more news forthcoming, in the wee hours of the morning, have already reported their removal from the YouTube websites, stating that that the content falls under the “harmful and dangerous” policy. Another popular channel, according to Bitcoin.com, stated that YouTube considered their channel to be connected with a “sale of regulated goods.”
.@YouTube just removed most of my crypto videos citing "harmful or dangerous content" and "sale of regulated goods"… it's been 10 years of making videos, 200k+ subs, and 7M+ views. WTF are you guys doing @TeamYouTube?! pic.twitter.com/MPcKbBVrC4
— Chris Dunn (@ChrisDunnTV) December 23, 2019
There’s plenty of speculation over why YouTube has decided to shut down these crypto channels, as some suggest that a larger purge may happen for channels with smaller followings. So far, the channels that have seemingly been shut down include Chris Dunn, Chico Crypto, The Cryptoverse, Crypto Tips, and BTC Sessions. For Dunn, the majority of the removals on his channel took his crypto content, accounting for about two years of content on the website.
.@YouTube just removed most of my crypto videos citing "harmful or dangerous content" and "sale of regulated goods"… it's been 10 years of making videos, 200k+ subs, and 7M+ views. WTF are you guys doing @TeamYouTube?! pic.twitter.com/MPcKbBVrC4
— Chris Dunn (@ChrisDunnTV) December 23, 2019
Chico Crypto has a following of about 67,000 subscribers, and he says he’s been banned from sharing for the next week. He also saw multiple videos get pulled by YouTube that covered cryptocurrency content.
Literally @YouTube Took Down A Video of Me Asking Hot Babes If They Have Ever Heard of #Bitcoin.
Yes That Is Right Just Asking If They "HEARD" Of It….
Due To "Harmful & Dangerous Content"
I Guess It's To Dangerous To Hear About $BTC Anymorehttps://t.co/6vlRCt2IHN
— Chico Crypto (Giving Away Eth-Jeez Greedy F***s) (@ChicoCrypto) December 23, 2019
The Cryptoverse’s Chris Coney stated that he got an email from YouTube for the ban, while influence Tone Vays remarked that his channel will likely be involve in this removal too.
They got me too. Email has arrived in my inbox today.
— Chris "The Cryptoverse" Coney (@ChrisConeyInt) December 23, 2019
Crypto Tips creator Heidi has a following of about 55,000 subscribers, and she states that “this new wave of censorship” has come after her as well.
My channel has been affected by this new wave of censorship as well. The joys of working with centralized entities with suffocating agendas. 😁
If my channel Crypto Tips gets taken down you can find me here:https://t.co/tTAlLCXeQb
And here:https://t.co/b32LN2rAEo https://t.co/cGzWp9zmOp— Heidi (@blockchainchick) December 23, 2019
There are many people that believe that this recent action is the result of major censorship of cryptocurrency on the video streaming platform, there are others who are concerned about personal conflicts. An alleged conversation on Telegram was posted by Chico Crypto, showing that a user identifying himself as Sam Smith plans to “keep flagging.”
So I Have Evidence Now of People Claiming That Yes They Are Mass Reporting My Videos, A Group on @telegram
Would Be Nice To Get Some Help @YouTube @YTCreators pic.twitter.com/Hviq42GrG8
— Chico Crypto (Giving Away Eth-Jeez Greedy F***s) (@ChicoCrypto) December 23, 2019
The user’s description of himself indicates that he focuses on “Fighting back against racist scammars in crypto.” Bitcoin.com attempted to reach out to the user through Telegram to learn more, and the user simply replied that he was responsible for the ban of Chico Crypto “absolutely.”
Bitcoin.com pursued other information from the user, asking about the other channels that have seen bans. The user replied, “Many of them are anti Indians and they spew hate speech.” One his own channel – Sam Smith Truth – the user adds, “YouTube is finally taking a stand against the ‘white population’ of crypto by removing videos and giving strikes. Diversity is a beautiful thing and crypto should welcome all backgrounds.”
To help remedy this clear issue, there are many users who are suggesting a migration to other video platforms that don’t have the same desired to censor their creators, like Steemit, Bitchute, and Flote. It has yet to be made clear of whether there are mass reporting issues against these videos or if YouTube itself is cleaning up the crypto crews.
If the latter is true, it would hardly be the first time that it has been criticized for a controversial ban of users. In June, the New York Times reported on the widespread ban of thousands of videos and channels that supported “bigoted ideologies” on the website. The ban included “videos alleging that a group is superior in order to justify discrimination, segregation or exclusion,” like neo-Nazism and white supremacy. At the time, the ban was set to cover videos that denied that violent events had taken place, like the shooting that took place in Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Here is a look at what crypto twitter and Youtubers in the cryptocurrency space are experiencing:
So apparently I got a content strike over a video about Crypto Censorship in South Korea. Appealing the Ban now. This whole incident really shows YouTube has no idea what they are doing and is just censoring free speech and news coverage. pic.twitter.com/NLXoRGpGLa
— Boxmining (@boxmining) December 24, 2019
Well, no videos today everyone….or for the next 7 days, my videos have also been taken down by Youtube for "Violations" – The "violation "video" is also 2 years old…so.. I hope that @YouTube realizes that these are coordinated attacks against the crypto youtube community pic.twitter.com/PoyG5ZDAf8
— The Modern Investor (@ModernInvest) December 24, 2019
The Crypto YouTube Carnage has reached my channel.
Just got also a strike for "harmful content" just like @ChicoCrypto @ChrisDunnTV @blockchainchick @ChrisConeyInt and some othersCan't upload for a week, thank you for this amazing year all and see you in 2020!
— Ivan on Tech (@IvanOnTech) December 24, 2019
Bitcoin Exchange Guide will continue to update this story about Youtube banning and censoring videos and user's accounts in the near future.
