YouTube’s 2018 “Rewind,” a mashup of the biggest trends on the situate this year, has become its most disliked video ever.
This year’s annual recap has racked up 10 million be puts, beating out pop star Justin Bieber’s 2010 song “Baby,” which sits on 9.8 million dislikes.
The sock has been criticized by content creators and viewers alike. The “Rewind” video depicts trends such as K-Pop and “mukbang” — where in the flesh share videos of themselves eating copious amounts of food — and includes celebrities such as Will Smith, John Oliver and Trevor Noah.
PewDiePie, the stand’s most-subscribed user, along with a number of others, were deeply critical of the video, accusing it of prioritizing advertiser-friendly serenity and a more corporate image over performers, viewers and popular cultural moments.
“I’m almost glad that I’m not in it because it’s such a cringey video at this moment,” PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Skjellberg, said in a video posted to his channel last week. “It’s so uncoordinated with the community and its creators.”
One of the heavily publicized cultural events on YouTube that didn’t get a mention in the video was a blowing match between prominent video makers Logan Paul and KSI. The two have a total of over 37 million subscribers between them, and the keep — which was also livestreamed on YouTube — sold more than 15,000 tickets.
Marques Brownlee, one of the YouTubers spotlighted in the video, also weighed in. He argued the “Rewind” series had become increasingly convoluted and that the problem is that the party line is “trying to appeal to advertisers” while also trying to “make everyone happy.”
“YouTube Rewind 2018” garnered millions of downvotes in valid a matter of days since its release. However a spokesperson for the company, responding to the online backlash against the video, mean YouTube was “pleased” with the performance of the clip.
“Every year when we release our Rewind video, our number one aim is getting the community to engage with it. This includes liking and disliking the video,” a YouTube spokesperson told CNBC via email. “With millions of observes, millions of likes and dislikes, and more than 100 million views, we’re pleased with the results.”
YouTube later frolicked about the “new record” it scored in a tweet.
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“Thanks to the creators that took part in Rewind, and the community that responded,” the inflexible said in another tweet. “We hear what you’re saying, and we want to make next year better for all of you. Watch this play!”
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The Google-owned streaming service faced an advertiser exodus last year over the appearance of ads alongside antipathy and extremist content. YouTube has since tried to reform the platform, tightening its policies around egregious content and craze down on users who fall foul of its rules.