14 DAY TRIAL // YouTube removed a large number of cryptocurrency-related content from the video sharing platform due to what the company described as “an error on our side,” and it’s now working on restoring access for all affected accounts.
The YouTube cryptocurrency purge has affected even high-profile users, and the first reports of content being removed for no clear reason made the rounds on December 25.
By the looks of things, random videos just got removed for “breaking the rules,” with some content being flagged as “harmful and dangerous.” YouTube hasn’t provided any further specifics to the affected users, with their content going dark all of a sudden.
Alex Saunders, CEO of Nugget’s News, a cryptocurrency-focused YouTube channel with nearly 65,000 subscribers, said on Twitter that YouTube’s purge hit his account on December 26.
“Hi @TeamYouTube with over 100 videos removed & 2 strikes in 24 hours I have still not even received an email from you. This is really scary. We've hired new staff. I have a wife & baby to support. I can't fix the problem if I don't know what I've done or who to communicate with!?” he tweeted.
YouTube: Oops!
Several hours later, the official TeamYouTube Twitter account acknowledged the problem, explaining that it was all just a mistake on the company’s side and everything should be returning to normal in no time.
“Really sorry about this! This was an error on our side during the review process and has been fixed now. All the videos should be reinstated and strikes resolved. Please let us know if you have any q's,” YouTube tweeted.
However, while YouTube says it fixed the error and the content should be back online for all affected users, some claim their videos are still nowhere to be seen.
At the time of writing, YouTube claims that engineers are “actively working to fix this,” so most likely, the fix is rolling out gradually to users worldwide, which means that for some accounts it could take longer until their videos are republished.