Earlier this week, YouTube, one of the most popular social media platforms for video sharing, deleted several videos that promote or had anything to do with the cryptocurrencies without giving any prior warnings.
YouTube has since restored the videos, with a spokesperson telling that the removal was a mistake. However the entire situation raises questions about how YouTube moderates its platform and decides what’s allowed on it.
YouTube erroneously flagged the clips as “harmful or dangerous content” and “sale of unregulated goods,” before taking the videos down.
“With the massive volume of videos on our site, sometimes we make the wrong call,” a YouTube spokesperson said responding to allegations that it had intentionally deleted the videos.
The video sharing giant didn’t share whether the flags were the result of a technical error, such as an algorithmic glitch, a coordinated human effort, or some other mistake.
Cryptocurrency YouTuber Chris Dunn, who was caught up in the initial purge, has issued an update since YouTube made these statements. He said that one of his strikes was removed and the videos showed as “appeal approved” but very few were actually reinstated. Today he was then slapped with a fresh strike and had even more videos removed.
It remains unclear as to why the crypto content was deleted in the first place, and YouTube has offered no explanation beyond saying it was a mistake. In any case, this incident has sparked a discussion among crypto video creators about moving their content to blockchain-based and decentralized video sharing platforms.
