Some in the tech media got the Warner Bros disclosure story severely wrong when they reported that Youtube sensation Pewdiepie got paid for good reviews. The Verge, Arstechnica, Engaget and others claimed in their headlines that Pewdiepie took money from Warner Bros for positive game reviews.
What Pewdiepie (the most subscribed content creator on Youtube) did was much less sexy and not as unethical as was reported. Essentially he did a gameplay video (not a review) and disclosed that it was sponsored, but not in the video itself. The only way to tell it was sponsored was by clicking on the “show more” button in the description. Not exactly the gold standard of disclosure — but not the gold standard of unethical shilling either.
Pewdiepie was at the center of the controversy mainly because he was the only Youtuber mentioned in the FTC press release. He was far from the most egregious offender mentioned in the report.
“He is the most-viewed personality on Youtube and he received the most money,” said Mitch Katz, spokesman for the FTC as the reason for naming Pewdiepie.
The FTC would not provide Heat Street with a full list of the Youtubers involved in the complaint because the complaint was aimed at Warner Bros and not the Youtubers themselves.
They do have an exhibit page that shows examples of murkier sponsorship disclosures.
Youtuber Silentc0re, a relatively small fish with only 170,000 subscribers at the time, only stated “Thanks to Warner Brothers for sponsoring my access!” in his disclosure. This easily could be construed to mean that Warner Bros. merely gave him a free copy of the game. What Warner Bros actually demanded was a positive review.
The disclosure from Siv HD (1.3 million subscribers at the time) said merely, “This has been one of my favorite sponsored games, so thanks that I could play it for free!!” Also confusing and less clear than Pewdiepie’s disclosure.
In Pewdiepie’s response to the media he accused the the outlets of running his name through the mud. “I don’t f—king need you,” he said. “I have an audience I can talk to them. You’re insignificant and that’s why you pull this shit.”
He may be right, although he shouldn’t discount the death by a thousand cuts the media is so good at these days.