Fans of top YouTuber Felix ‘PewDiePie‘ Kjellberg have been left confused after the 100 million+ subscribed channel has apparently been caught up in the verification debacle.
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On September 19, YouTube rolled out a new verification system, which effectively removed the verified ‘tick’ badge from countless channels, in a move that left the community confused.
After significant backlash, CEO Susan Wojcicki said that they had “missed the mark” with the change, and the removal of verification badges was reverted on September 20.
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PewDiePie’s channel did not lose verification, at least on desktop, but fans later noticed that on mobile he had no badge.
YouTube stated in a Tweet that “the checkmark has never appeared on mobile pages” and that it would be added soon, but it was pointed out that some YouTubers, including James Charles, did, in fact, have a verified tick on mobile, when they are searched for.
Another popular YouTuber, Shane Dawson, also has a verified badge when searched for on YouTube mobile.
The lack of a verified badge next to PewDiePie’s name on mobile immediately sparked backlash, as users were perhaps unaware that the verified tick is often not displayed on mobile anyway.
Pewdiepie isn’t even verified anymore. pic.twitter.com/waHfa5OXP1
— Hype Colby :soon: SoaR (@HypeColby) September 19, 2019
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LMAO YOUTUBES ON CRACK, skeppy, a6d and bbh lost their verification for youtube AND AND AND. EVEN PEWDIEPIE LOST IT?? i swear youtube is slowly losing its mind :/
— abby !! ☁︎ (@kokoacat_) September 19, 2019
James Charles himself spoke out against YouTube’s new verification system (which has now been reverted), branding it “pointless”.
I’m really sorry to the creators who are being unverified on @YouTube today. This decision is really pointless and it’s yet another change not a single person asked for :neutral_face: PLEASE know that you are still valid as a creator and I hope that a stupid checkmark doesn’t discourage you!
— James Charles (@jamescharles) September 19, 2019
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Jacksepticeye, a frequent collaborator of PewDiePie, is another who doesn’t have the verified box pop-up when his name is searched on mobile, despite having over 20 million subscribers.
He also spoke out on the topic, calling the move to unverify creators a “slap in the face.”
Everyone getting unverified on YT today. It’s a slap in the face but try not let it get to you and demotivate you. Keep creating and making cool shit.
— Jacksepticeye (@Jack_Septic_Eye) September 19, 2019
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With YouTube now restoring verification to all those who lost it, and introducing a more robust system for granting verification, the main complaints about the change have been resolved.
The confusion was caused because of the inconsistency of some users having the verified badge on mobile, while PewDiePie – the most subscribed-to individual creator – and others, were left without.
