GamersNexus/YouTube LinusTechTips/YouTube
Over a year after their first scuffle, Linus Tech Tips and Gamers Nexus are once again embroiled in controversy. In Aug 2023, Linus Tech Tips host Linus Sebastian was accused by Stephen Burke of Gamers Nexus of shoddy work. Burke’s exposé video showed Linus Tech Tips publishing misleading graphs and sharing inaccurate information in reviews.
As the scandal overtook the news cycle, Sebastian announced in forum posts and YouTube videos that he would be stepping down from CEO to take a better look at his place in the company.
Subsequently, the controversy cooled down. Then, earlier this month, Gamers Nexus posted a video examining allegations that browser extension Honey was stealing users’ data. Burke criticized Sebastian for “not making a video on the way Honey worked years ago” after Linus Tech Tips stopped working with the brand.
On his WAN Show, Sebastian called Burke “disingenuous” for misrepresenting his work and not seeking a request for comment. The pair went back and forth. Burke released a statement on his website. Sebastian clapped back on the next episode of the WAN Show.
The saga seems to have finally died down. In a statement on X Burke wrote, “We no longer care and we will produce our coverage that I feel is right.”
Actually It’s About Ethics In YouTube Journalism
Request for comment is a pillar of investigative journalism for a reason. When you are doing a big story accusing someone of a heinous act a comment is needed.
Journalists need to make sure subjects aren’t completely caught off guard in a “gotcha moment.” It makes the whole process clearer, allowing your subject a chance to correct any information you might have had wrong.
For example my story about allegations of workplace abuse in the creation of Hazbin Hotel. I reached out to its showrunners and high-up personnel who informed me that one detail I had (what program animators were paid through) had changed so I corrected the draft. That little bit of outreach can transform a story that’s mostly correct into one that’s airtight for public consumption.
Are YouTubers Journalists, Even If They Don’t Think They Are?
Part of the issue with setting established ethics in YouTube journalism is the very nature of user-created content. Many YouTubers I’ve spoken to over the years don’t view themselves as journalists. Accordingly, they feel like they don’t need to follow the same ethical guidelines journalists do.
In their eyes, they are just sharing their opinions and thoughts. If people want to take them too seriously that’s their problem.
But Millions of viewers across every imaginable genre get daily news from content creators. In 2020, a study by the Pew Research Center claimed about a quarter of US adults get their news directly from YouTube. Follow-up studies show that it has only increased over the past five years to 32 percent.
These videos exist throughout the research spectrum, ranging from in-depth researched video essays to clickbait slop churned out to skim as many views out of the algorithm as possible. As viewers, it can be hard to differentiate between journalism and commentary. After all, every video on a topic has to compete for the same limited space in recommended and search feeds.
As such, YouTubers should follow journalistic guidelines when making claims in their videos. But here’s the issue: nobody is teaching them the rules. Even though I had gone to journalism school, I didn’t learn how to do this job until I had already been reporting for many years.
We should expect more from our creators since they are the ones spreading content to the masses. So next time you are writing your next video, maybe reach out to your subject ahead of time.
