There is an on-going drama happening at YouTube and it involves PewDiePie, who is not merely one of its stars but its number one star to date. The Sweden-based YouTuber, whose real name is Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, has even threatened to quit the popular video sharing platform due to several issues he has so far enumerated via a series of rants.
PewDiePie vs. YouTube
One can say that there are two essential dimensions to PewDiePie's recent pronouncements. First, he says that YouTube is deliberately sabotaging his channel and, secondly, that move is being perpetrated because of his race.
"I'm white," he said in one video. "Can I make that comment? But I do think that's a problem."
PewDiePie's beef with YouTube involves the diminishing number of his subscribers. His argument is that YouTube is deliberately reducing the number of his subscribers in order to bump up "someone extremely cancerous." Some believe that the personality being referred to is the Canadian YouTuber Lilly Singh.
PewDiePie maintained that subscribers are unsubscribed for no reason and he blames this on a conspiracy being hatched at YouTube. He cited a newly implemented algorithm as the means to this end.
The popular YouTuber also pointed out that his "suggested video" traffic also took a beating last November. For him, it reinforces the possibility that powers-that-be at YouTube are intentionally sabotaging their way in pursuing a shift away from creator or personality-based content.
"YouTube wants to kill my channel," he stressed. "I've decided the only way to stop my channel from dying — I know you are going to think I am joking — but I am going to delete my channel."
YouTube's Side
Perhaps stung by PewDiePie's criticisms, YouTube issued a statement addressing the charges.
"We've done an extensive review and found there have been no decreases in creators' subscriber numbers beyond what normally happens when viewers either unsubscribe from a creator's channel or when YouTube removes spammed subscribers," a spokesperson said. "We do the latter to ensure that all creator subscriber numbers are accurate."
In a Twitter post, PewDiePie claimed that YouTube has reached out to him. No details have been provided save for the claim that it is digging into the matter. YouTube has also said that it is just normal to see fluctuations in the number of channel subscribers.
As of this writing, PewDiePie's rants have been viewed by millions of users. He also has not retracted his threat that he will delete his channel once he reached 50 million subscribers.
Others parties involved in the controversy such as Singh have so far kept their silence.