YouTube has taken crypto shillers and sensationalist video makers to task by stopping their live streams. Some popular crypto content creators saw their streams cut after YouTube took exception to some of their recently posted content, claiming that the content they are posting is ‘harmful or dangerous’ and that it breached community guidelines.
The episode has echoes of the Christmas purge by YouTube, although this ended up being an algorithm error, whereas this seems more targeted.
Scourge of the Crypto World
Sensationalist clickbait YouTube videos are the scourge of the cryptocurrency world, with loud mouthed shills ranting about an ‘imminent huge move for Bitcoin’ or the ‘next coin that will go 100x’, with the latter usually involving covert payment in some way. A simple search for cryptocurrency related videos brings up the kind of thumbnails that crypto natives will be all too familiar with:
The space was rife with such tactics during the 2017 bull run as snake oil salesmen who thought if they shouted loud enough into a laptop they could convince people to pump their bags or use their lucrative exchange referral links.
There were some very rare cases where informed cryptocurrency investors analysed projects openly and honestly, but all too often they were sponsored, either overtly or, in the case of DataDash’s Nicholas Merten, covertly.
Ivan on Tech One Among the Victims
Unfortunately, with even a multi-year bear market is not enough to stop the kind of hyped up rubbish that gives crypto a bad name, and it seems that YouTube has finally had enough. A case in point is Ivan on Tech, who had his live stream halted and was quick to complain about YouTube’s actions, claiming that he was entirely innocent:
YOUTUBE CRYPTO PURGE IS BACK!!
Our channel has a strike as soon as I started a new live stream.
This doesn’t make sense, nothing dangerous or harmful was being presented in that stream. @TeamYouTube @ytcreators @YouTube Please help!
WE NEED HELP ON THIS MATTER!
SHARE THIS!!!! pic.twitter.com/630Mp3al8d— Ivan on Tech (@IvanOnTech) February 23, 2020
However, a quick glance over some of his recent video titles, such as ‘Bitcoin – Act Now’ and ‘Massive Bull Ahead – Do Not Miss Out’, should be enough to make him realize why his videos have been flagged:
While some were supportive of Ivan on Tech’s desire to get his services reactivated, others were less hospitable:
You are shilling and pumping without any consequences
— Kryptoidioter ? (@kryptoidioter) February 23, 2020
Tbh, your shilling is kind of out of control lately…
— Bitcoin is [Jan/3➞?] (@_Bitcoin_Is) February 23, 2020
Exploitative Shill Monsters
It is abundantly clear that while videos such as these may not come across as immediately harmful or dangerous, they are presented in a sensationalist way and using underhand tactics to get people to watch.
While the idea of censorship is anathema to many cryptocurrency fans, hence the furor such purges kick up, if these exploitative shill monsters are going to use such platforms then they have to deal with the consequences.
It would be nice to think that such warnings will cause the likes of Ivan on Tech and Bitcoin Fund Manager to tone down their videos, but the sad truth is, with a bull market just round the corner, it will likely have no effect whatsoever.
