“This video is popular,” YouTube is limiting the amount of viewers certain videos and livestreams have based on subscriber counts.
A strange new message is appearing on livestreams and videos of creators who have a low subscriber count — or “limited creator history” — and YouTube is currently limiting the amount of viewers the video is allowed to receive, prompting new visitors to subscribe to the channel.
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YouTube may be trying to encourage channel engagement with this strange new message but sadly it reeks of censorship.
If a video posted by a channel with a low sub count is doing relatively well, YouTube will block access to the content with the following “Video unavailable” message:
“This video is popular! Due to limited creator history, we’re limiting the number of viewers. Subscribe to this channel to help this creator reach a broader audience.”
A lot of smaller YouTubers have reported that this message has popped up for them when they get a lot of viewers during their livestreams. According the reports, YouTube have implemented a viewer threshold to certain channels. The only way to increase or remove the threshold is to get more subscribers.
YouTube censoring trucker convoy.
YouTube have not yet made any comments regarding this new message but it appears to be mainly affecting new channels that are livestreaming the Freedom Convoy happening in Canada, Australia, Italy and many other countries.
There has been minimal media coverage of the trucker convoys and people are flocking to YouTube to search for live footage of the event.
“Trucker convoy Canada 2022 live,” is one of the most searched terms on YouTube at the moment. However, all independent livestreams and clips have been completely removed from the search results. The best way to find a independent livestream of the convoy and the protests is by searching for links on other social media sites. However, most livestreams will yield the aforementioned “video unavailable” message.
YouTube livestreamer Cunuda Murica was also limited on his stream, "Canada Trucker Freedom Convoy Saturday 2022 Live." https://t.co/RuQFxIhimC pic.twitter.com/b7oj1gl1EI
— Chris Menahan 🇺🇸 (@infolibnews) January 31, 2022
A representative for Odysee, a blockchain video sharing site and YouTube competitor, slammed the company for censoring the convoy, tweeting: “YouTube stop pulling links related to the Canadian trucker protest. Ok people, it’s official Odysee is the only social media video platform on the planet that is for the people and not corporations.”
YouTube have not made an official statement regarding the censorship of the Convoy of Freedom livestreams or why they are limitting viewers on small channels.