Twitch streamer Asmongold gave a big thumbs down to YouTube over the decision to no longer display dislikes on the platform, accusing the site of censoring opposition to corporate and government “propaganda.”
On November 10, YouTube announced it would no longer display dislikes on videos and instead only showcase the amount of likes that videos receive.
The site claimed that it was making this change to protect against “dislike attacks,” where viewers would mass-dislike videos as a way to harass content creators.
However, considering YouTube already lets users disable likes, dislikes and comments on their videos, this decision was slammed by many, including Twitch streamer Asmongold.
YouTube removing dislikes not only censors dissent from corporate propaganda and brand agendas
It also protects predators and abusers from accountability to their audience, making new victims easier to find
In the effort to make users "safe" YouTube has done the opposite
— Zack (@Asmongold) November 11, 2021
Asmongold blasts YouTube for dislike count change
The World of Warcraft streamer is no stranger to speaking out on hot-button issues, and YouTube’s dislike count was no different. In a series of posts, he blasted the Google-owned platform for a change that he feels is promoting censorship and making the site less safe.
“YouTube removing dislikes not only censors dissent from corporate propaganda and brand agendas,” he said. “It also protects predators and abusers from accountability to their audience, making new victims easier to find.”
He also pointed out that by removing only dislikes, narratives can be spun where content that would normally result in backlash would now look positively received.
I see what you mean but I disagree
Removing Likes AND Dislikes from a video is removing feedback entirely
Removing ONLY Dislikes allows you to craft a positive and potentially misleading narrative regardless of the audience's reaction
— Zack (@Asmongold) November 11, 2021
“Removing Likes AND Dislikes from a video is removing feedback entirely,” he noted. “Removing ONLY Dislikes allows you to craft a positive and potentially misleading narrative regardless of the audience’s reaction.”
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Asmongold says YouTube is censoring legitimate criticism
In his Twitch stream, Asmongold touched on the issue more, reiterating that YouTube was becoming more friendly towards “corporate propaganda.”
“It makes it more friendly towards corporations pushing propaganda and not being able to be criticized for it by the audience,” he explained. “It just makes the website more friendly towards corporate propaganda and government propaganda too.”
Asmongold isn’t the first big name in the streaming space to speak out against the decision. Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel warned the site they were making a big mistake by implementing this change, while YouTube megastar PewDiePie thinks the system is fine as is.
The latter even cited his own experience looking up tutorial videos and knowing to avoid ones with a high dislike count, something Asmongold also touched upon.
Bro idk how many times I've looked at a tech help video with 2 likes 38 dislikes and saved myself 15 minutes
— Zack (@Asmongold) November 11, 2021
“I don’t know how many times I’ve looked at a tech help video with 2 likes 38 dislikes and saved myself 15 minutes,” he remarked.
While it’s unlikely that YouTube backs down, in an interesting twist, the video the site uploaded announcing the removal of public dislikes has four times more downvotes than upvotes. Go figure.
