[Update 9/20/2019:] YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki updated the community after receiving massive backlash, informing them that they will not be removing the verification badges for YouTubers who have already been verified.
UPDATE 1: We heard loud & clear how much the badge means to you. Channels that currently have verification will now keep it without appeal. We’ll continue reviewing those channels to ensure we’re protecting creators from impersonation. More on our changes: https://t.co/B715A8xq2f
— Susan Wojcicki (@SusanWojcicki) September 20, 2019
[Original article:] The purge has begun. YouTube has been sending out e-mails letting users know that they are de-verifying various top name creators have been with the platform for years. Earlier in the day they announced that they have a new system set to roll out in October, and part of the overhauled verification process has seemingly excised a lot of big names from YouTube’s content creator pool.
Software designer Mark Kern pointed to a tweet from 14-year veteran of YouTube, Mike Falzone, who runs the Mike In The Morning Show and is set to have a show air on Amazon and PlutoTV.
YouTube would have never gotten off the ground if it weren’t for independent content creators.
YouTube was built off their content and free labor and passion.
Now they are throwing them all away to chase…a TV model that favors the big corps. https://t.co/sLWEwOhl4h
— Mark Kern (@Grummz) September 20, 2019
Falzone made a quick video just under a minute long, explaining that even though YouTube is de-verifying him, he’s still going to keep making content.
It’s also ironic because YouTube mentions that verification is based on popularity outside of the YouTube platform, and Falzone ends the video talking about how he has several sold out shows that’s part of his tour when he crosses through Chicago.
— Mike Falzone (@MikeFalzone) September 19, 2019
BitChute also posted a tweet questioning how a channel like Styxhexenhammer666 could be de-verified if he’s been awarded a play button, and has around 390,000 subscribers.
How could a channel that has been awarded a play button not be verified? #deverification https://t.co/OA134fIJiu
— BitChute (@bitchute) September 19, 2019
Styx couldn’t resist making a video about the de-verification, talking about how he received the e-mail and what it means for the channel.
Styx explains that YouTube has created a subjectively opaque system where people have no idea what the criteria is for being “prominent” outside of YouTube.
This has led some YouTubers to become confused as to what YouTube’s new criteria will entail when it comes to “prominence”. Even Laci Green found out the hard way that YouTube no longer considers her to be prominent enough to be verified either.
update: youtube decided that *i am not impersonating myself* and finally let me back into my account!!
lol @ IMMEDIATELY unverifying me + hundreds of channels less than an hour after clearing false impersonation charges. thanks guys super helpful ♀️ https://t.co/49QAdl0lLd
— Laci Green (@gogreen18) September 19, 2019
Most people see the writing on the wall; that these new verification steps will be used to ensure that celebrities and mainstream media are verified, but the people who broke their back to make YouTube as big as it is will be left out in the cold.
With the de-verification of various channels, also expect demonetization to escalate along with more channel terminations.
