The Disappearing Videos of YouTube
The Network Neighborhood icon, appearing in Windows 95 and NT4, allowed people to share files between computers connected on a home network. At universities and LAN parties, people used to make copies of the videos they watched, long before the growth of large video sharing websites. YouTube did so well during the video hosting wars that it was purchased by Google. Being a massive monolith of a video sharing website, it’s also rife with censorship. I archive videos that I find interesting, which are also at high risk of disappearing. I wrote a program called Youboot to scan my collection of downloaded videos, and tell me which ones are no longer available and the reason they were removed. The best offense, in the war against thought-crime, is to watch the videos the powerful want to burn.
For years, I used the tools youtube-dl
and it’s currently maintained fork, yt-dlp
, as a Swiss Army Knife for downloading videos from websites. I’ve called its Python API directly from tools I’ve written to archive content from Locals and The Blaze. Years ago I found an excellent wrapper script for archiving videos. Over the years I’ve modified it, and the current form is a fish
shell function that saves metadata and subtitles (both user created and auto-generated) into a standard path that includes the YouTube channel name, video title and YouTube ID.
#!/bin/fish function yt yt-dlp --add-metadata -f bestvideo+bestaudio --write-sub --write-auto-subs --sub-format srt/best --sub-lang en --embed-subs -o "/media/storage/streaming/youtube/%(uploader)s/%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s" $argv[1] end
I used to download everything before watching it, as the YouTube website just sucks from a user interface perspective. It’s only gone from bad to horrible. Today I use FreeTube for watching videos (and sometimes NewPipe on my phone, although I rarely watch videos on mobile). But I’ll still call this shell function on videos I want to archive, or suspect might disappear. Before I used this function, I’d just call youtube-dl
or yt-dlp
on the video URL. By default, these tools don’t store metadata, so not all the videos I’ve archived contain the channel name.
Using Youboot
Youboot is a Python application and will require the poetry
build tool. You can setup Youboot using the following:
git clone https://gitlab.com/djsumdog/youboot cd youboot poetry install
The following command will scan a directory for videos that appear to have a YouTube video ID:
# Scan a directory for YouTube Videos poetry run python -m youboot scan-directory /path/to/scan # Assume the parent directory is the name of the channel poetry run python -m youboot scan-directory --channel-name-in-path /media/storage/streaming/youtube
The regular expression1 for finding YouTube video IDs will likely scrape up some videos that are not downloaded from YouTube. They can be removed from future scans and reports by using the exclude-video
command.
poetry run python -m youboot exclude-video 20_17-15-30 [23:39:22] INFO Setting 20_17-15-30 as excluded
The pull-metadata
command will attempt to retrieve YouTube metadata for each video. It will error out if a rate limit is encountered. When this happens, simply wait a while and try again.
[youtube] Extracting URL: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4ErvqnEFb-E [youtube] 4ErvqnEFb-E: Downloading webpage [youtube] 4ErvqnEFb-E: Downloading ios player API JSON [youtube] 4ErvqnEFb-E: Downloading web creator player API JSON ERROR: [youtube] 4ErvqnEFb-E: Sign in to confirm you’re not a bot. This helps protect our community. Learn more
The command list-errors
will output the unique list of errors returned when searching for YouTube metadata.
❯ poetry run python -m youboot list-errors
Error | Formatted Error |
---|---|
Private video. Sign in if you’ve been granted access to this video | Private Video |
Video unavailable. This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated. | Account Terminated |
Video unavailable. This video is not available in your country | Country/Region Block |
Video unavailable | Video Unavailable |
This video has been removed for violating YouTube’s policy on hate speech. Learn more about combating hate speech in your country. | Hate Speech |
Video unavailable. This video is no longer available because the uploader has closed their YouTube account. | Uploader Closed Account |
This video has been removed for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines | Community Guidelines |
“Thinkers” Club (or any higher level). Join this channel to get access to members-only content and other exclusive perks. | Subscription Required |
Video unavailable. This video has been removed by the uploader | Uploader Removed |
Video unavailable. This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Journeyman Pictures | Copyright Claim |
This video has been removed for violating YouTube’s policy on nudity or sexual content | Nudity/Sexually Explicit |
Video unavailable. This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by DV Media Management | Copyright Claim |
This video has been removed for violating YouTube’s policy on harassment and bullying | Harassment/Bullying |
This video has been removed for violating YouTube’s Terms of Service | Terms of Service |
This video has been removed for violating YouTube’s policy on violent or graphic content | Violent/Graphic Content |
list-removed-videos
will print a table of removed in the console. The command export_csv
will create a comma separated value file that can be opened with spreadsheet programs. totals
will render a table of aggregated counts and percentages for each removal type. export_html_table
can be used to generate HTML output, which I’ve used to create the table below.
Censored Videos
I scanned my storage drives, archives and backups to try to find all the YouTube videos I’ve downloaded. Out of the 1143 videos I have, 207 are no longer available for various reasons, and 21 are unlisted. 18% of the videos I’ve archived are no longer available on YouTube.
# Videos | % of all Videos | |
---|---|---|
All Videos | 1143 | |
Unlisted | 21 | 1.84 |
Removed: Video Unavailable | 87 | 7.61 |
Removed: Uploader Removed | 2 | 0.17 |
Removed: Account Terminated | 69 | 6.04 |
Removed: Community Guidelines | 8 | 0.70 |
Removed: Private Video | 27 | 2.36 |
Removed: Hate Speech | 2 | 0.17 |
Removed: Subscription Required | 1 | 0.09 |
Removed: Harassment/Bullying | 1 | 0.09 |
Removed: Country/Region Block | 2 | 0.17 |
Removed: Copyright Claim | 2 | 0.17 |
Removed: Uploader Closed Account | 2 | 0.17 |
Removed: Violent/Graphic Content | 1 | 0.09 |
Removed: Nudity/Sexually Explicit | 2 | 0.17 |
Removed: Terms of Service | 1 | 0.09 |
Removed (Total) | 207 | 18.11 |
Some of these videos are not missing for nefarious reasons. For example, someone might decide to share a video to paid supporters first. Then, they delete the original and upload a public release that removes mistakes, or adds suggestions, based on comments by supporters. Some videos might violate another entity’s copyright. A creator might discover a large factual mistake in a video, and remove it to prevent embarrassment or the spreading of a lie. But looking through the titles, it seems like an uncomfortable number of these videos may have been taken down for political reasons.
Video ID | Title | Channel | Availability |
---|---|---|---|
yipyenW_blQ | It's Getting Crazy Out Here At The Trump Rally | Marcus Rogers | Video Unavailable |
prxnM4B4xcM | The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters #62 | The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters | Video Unavailable |
6XhW7fHwrcQ | The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters #52 | The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters | Video Unavailable |
LPxFGKVl5Hg | The Mostly Peaceful Capitol Storming | The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters | Uploader Removed |
tTIqMhzOXPA | Biden’s Hollow Inauguration | The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters | Video Unavailable |
z0jIydkSEFs | The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters #60 | The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters | Video Unavailable |
CuO5daHLKSE | The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters #48 | The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters | Video Unavailable |
vZQXhwOIF0o | The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters #53 | The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters | Video Unavailable |
KpT25G-Of4k | Video proves President Trump called on people to “PEACEFULLY & PATRIOTICALLY march to the Capital” | ScienceSplat | Account Terminated |
wxZuI_-nm38 | It's Not Over Yet! | ShekinahWorshipTV | Video Unavailable |
sJTs9BoTJy8 | Jovan Pulitzer - FULL TESTIMONY - Georgia Senate Hearing - 2020 Election Fraud - 30 Dec [PART 5] HD | Ted Pikul | Video Unavailable |
N_s_GqOleH8 | ‘TRUTH’ With RFK, Jr and LA Attorney Ryan Keech on Judge Ruling Overturning Outdoor Dining Ban | Children's Health Defense | Account Terminated |
XguQGkcDFAs | This Trump Supporter is an Instant Legend | Diemon Dave | Account Terminated |
6HlJl5CrTxo | Shawn Skelton Explains What the Moderna V🪓 Did to Her as She Convulses Uncontrollably | HEFF Tv | Account Terminated |
NksN3_Ust_g | I'm Blocked From Uploading to GooTube (and Other News) | Corbett Report Extras | Community Guidelines |
eJJo28-Vfr8 | (UNLISTED After Only 12 Hours) The White House Cancels Biden's Inauguration Video - Poor Ratings | Global Agenda | Account Terminated |
CreVpaDZgOY | Law Professor responds to WOKE university | David K. Clements | Video Unavailable |
YqapUKkQSEU | War with the Deep State | SPEAK Project | Account Terminated |
ficae6x1Q5A | Interview with Source on Electronic Vote Fraud | CDMedia | Video Unavailable |
ibU5KVFCg4Y | USPS Whistleblower Richard Hopkins - “I DID NOT RECANT” | Project Veritas | Video Unavailable |
YAPXlgQKLvw | Registered Nurse Message. | The News Junkie's Cartoons | Video Unavailable |
V7z3JsVZwS4 | David fall | The 8-Bit Guy | Unlisted |
zARzOTfdMgA | Texas Tech Part 4 | The 8-Bit Guy | Video Unavailable |
qh8Q5Wh-wBg | Attack of the PETSCII Robots - Part 2 | The 8-Bit Guy | Video Unavailable |
h7bKctz6LMU | Suckless Devs are N_zis Time to CANCEL DWM!! 😡 | Mental Outlaw | Private Video |
oJcEDzgPRrc | I got banned from Facebook (as a millionaire). | TechLead | Private Video |
uEo3rnU12jw | THIS is a Meeting Privately Recorded in EDMONTON Alberta Canada last week! | Agent Fearless Canuck Givvin'er Spoonz | Account Terminated |
BYZ2XoaBO2A | So what exactly are white people superior at _ Keep it 100 - Black in America _ Cut | Cut | Private Video |
-KfUe2cpPSk | 3 Dangers of Biden_Harris Administration | Glenn Greenwald | Unlisted |
UvYDlVkDh-c | Get CYBERPUNK 2077 For 43$ and Annoy SJW's At the Same time! A Deal so good it MUST be True! | Arch | Private Video |
pBCxG_SCnQE | Company Towns with The Trillbillies│Means TV | MEANS TV | Video Unavailable |
QH2-TGUlwu4 | Nyan Cat [original] | MEANS TV | Video Unavailable |
mYJWiZkHE1k | Election Day Threats - Violence & Voting Machines│Means Morning News | MEANS TV | Video Unavailable |
1Mqb6oC-3IE | Scott Adams - How Democrats Rigged The U.S Election | Scott Adams Clips | Video Unavailable |
cbTSUkA8xgI | Preliminary Composite of GA Video | L isfortheWay | Account Terminated |
u2gusKwFoVQ | Footage Of The Altercation That Happened In Olympia Washington On 12_05_2020 HT Black Rebel | The Common Sense Conservative | Account Terminated |
bRsp7240hhE | Have People Forgotten Where They Are | Truthstream Media | Private Video |
nQuwTdrVrg4 | Kill Chain - The Cyber War on America’s Elections _ Full Documentary for DEF CON _ HBO | HBO | Unlisted |
Tq8SXOBy-4w | 'I CAN'T KEEP DOING THIS' - Doctor pleads for review of data during COVID-19 Senate hearing | NewsNOW from FOX | Private Video |
BQrNaet6Fa8 | New World Next Year 2021 | corbettreport | Account Terminated |
nuDQ_3g53qc | What NO ONE is Saying About The Lockdowns | corbettreport | Account Terminated |
UQvaQFdGLn8 | The Future of Vaccines | corbettreport | Account Terminated |
Yvl_7_Up7zU | donoteat this BONUS EPISODE 2 - KILLDOZER! | donoteat01 | Unlisted |
gYunK2OvI8U | Why do 'Corporate Art Styles' Feel Fake | Solar Sands | Private Video |
8YHvGBWATnM | 2 Scots P&D & RRSB play '79th's Farewell to Gibraltar' - [4K_UHD] | Jim Ramsay | Private Video |
ZMHmzp3Jza4 | Pike Co. judge attacked during court | ThisIsButter | Account Terminated |
lKCTkLJbtT4 | Possible Leaked Roadmap for the Next Phase of the Agenda | Computing Forever | Account Terminated |
jsOXMi1E0tQ | Unmasked - Have we uncovered the truth about the 2020 election | Pure Data | Community Guidelines |
xaVKikQNJrA | IS KAMALA HARRIS' HUSBAND CONNECTED TO SMARTMATIC_DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS! | Chrissy Stafford | Account Terminated |
4tmlZCk2gCg | What you need to know about the SolarWinds Supply-Chain Attack | SANS Summits | Unlisted |
tngnSuLsR4c | EXPLOSIVE! Hillary FINALLY CAUGHT! Declassified CIA Docs Show MASSIVE CORRUPTION Involving Clinton! | Liberal Hivemind | Video Unavailable |
oWXlKqcGEZg | Georgia to DECERTIFY Election Results! | Doug TenNapel | Account Terminated |
MpFqV4VaVO0 | What Caused the Voat Shutdown (Voat.co) | WarmPotato | Account Terminated |
0I9r0L64t8c | Joe Rogan Experience #1582 - Alex Berenson | PowerfulJRE Top 1 | Video Unavailable |
DbKhCvXEGTc | Anthony Fauci | Gold Institute for International Strategy | Unlisted |
7kJ1LrlkE-g | Pelosi Blames Trump For $600 Stimulus _ Plans to Add Trillions to 'Fix' Bill | Salty Cracker | Video Unavailable |
T0ovxhm9fj8 | You Must NOT Do Your Own Research When It Comes To Science, Says Forbes👎 | Life In The Labyrinth 2 | Account Terminated |
OxwuZEAJVfA | Christmas 2020 Nashville, TN Bombing (multiple angles) | tony bressie | Video Unavailable |
pBKheo3kmrc | Tucker Carlson exposed media_Democrats lies about Brian Sicknick death | FaRaRi | Video Unavailable |
PNxhHYUX1vE | PREPARE TO BE SPEECHLESS.....VAXXX THAT THANG UP! | A CALL FOR AN UPRISING | Video Unavailable |
u-_tJ1gmw_Q | Everyone needs to see this! | Apocalyptic clips | Video Unavailable |
w2WbNKxE6gw | Australian Police Bash and Pepper spray 70-year old woman | Aussie Cossack | Account Terminated |
Q0DR5Z1MpdU | FINAL WARNING FROM EX Pfizer Vice President Michael Yeadon | Bella Sting | Video Unavailable |
wV9Rl6d2Mys | The next pandemic is just around the corner! | Cabin Talk | Account Terminated |
vWa5HRX7tek | German Grandma Toasts To Hitler!!!! 'Heil Hitler' | Daily Hip-Hop Network | Hate Speech |
zfqxCkJw0Rk | Vaccine 'Emergency Use Authorization' & ivermectin (from Livestream #80) | DarkHorse Podcast Clips | Video Unavailable |
ZwR7natWqLk | My Jaw DROPPED when I Tested Someone's Immune System After the 2nd Jab | Dr. Nathan Thompson | Community Guidelines |
Dzu5J4M4pBQ | Election Integrity - The Civil Rights Issue of Our Time _ Robert Barnes | Hillsdale College | Unlisted |
xSrc_s2Gqfw | Impact of COVID Vaccinations on Mortality | Joel Smalley | Video Unavailable |
NRO13v4-MwA | Noam Chomsky says the right response to unvaccinated is insist that they be isolated from society | Jooish Queistchon | Account Terminated |
SEsjvkIJlZs | WAKE UP CALL _ Documentary 4K _ World Freedom Alliance - Copenhagen | Oracle Films Uncensored | Community Guidelines |
Wlqs4N3tDgo | Fans at Yankee Stadium drop a giant “Trump Won” sign. | OutKickTheSports | Video Unavailable |
UB7FGO1Ldc8 | Act of 1871 (7_43) | Photonic Truth | Account Terminated |
vWMxHBuuP6U | 1666 Sabbatean-Frankist Illuminati History | Robert Sepehr | Video Unavailable |
DYAQ9HYdcdA | FACTORIO REVIEW _ ℞ Ritalin Really Helps | SsethTzeentach | Unlisted |
gA3jcLOdvw4 | VACCINE FACTS - Watch This While You Can... _ Louder with Crowder | StevenCrowder | Video Unavailable |
9AIYqjgxk3g | IT'S A MAN IN A SKIRT!! @Caitlyn Jenner #repent #RINO | The Black Conservative Preacher | Account Terminated |
7Sc8VqvGdSk | MathBoi Fly - HALF A TIKKET (prod. by DeeMarc) | MathBoi Fly | Account Terminated |
ELgtiyPtgl4 | A common question…Why all the 💉 injuries | Dr. Nathan Thompson | Community Guidelines |
ciuRLFLoLL0 | February 1, 2022 | Nicholas Morton | Unlisted |
0xd5lggt1Ps | People say lack of housing forces local residents into the streets | News Today | Video Unavailable |
4Dddob2fXs8 | POLICE WON'T LET LADY BUY COFFEE IN OTTAWA | mistersunshinebaby | Video Unavailable |
rFTVCJr8-qg | Canada Parliament ignores MP's Klaus Schwab question! #irnieracingNews | Marcel Irnie | Video Unavailable |
-Q2lqVo_Lhc | I feel I have to get this information to you guys NOW! | Cabin Talk | Account Terminated |
kSkdSUjQYxY | Ukraine On Fire - Oliver Stone documentary | F1 TV News | Account Terminated |
G3Iv1CBpEl4 | Unbelievable boots on the ground footage, Ukraine March 2022 What is going on here Lez Luthor clips | Unacceptable Fringe Minority | Hate Speech |
a-wkz3mxc-Y | UNCENSORED Will Smith punches Chris Rock and drops F-BOMB live on the Oscars 94th Academy Awards | Marin Suslic | Video Unavailable |
QZ9aLIacUmc | Biden pays farms to STOP - EU out of Feed - Meat taxes & Chicken permits - Up to you to GROW FOOD! | Ice Age Farmer | Unlisted |
sGPkT5kbj0s | SIX MONTHS TO COLOSSAL FOOD SHORTAGES - Attacks on Food Supply Chain | Yanasa TV | Subscription Required |
U0ZFwc69L0E | 2000 Miles Movie ( FULL MOVIE ENGLISH ) 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 2022 - By Dinesh D'Souza Streaming _ Onprogres | Dinesh D'Souza in 2000 Mules Documentary | Account Terminated |
-yZ16XLQ82U | ⚠️ Everyone Must Know This Before it is Deleted! (2022-2023) | Anonymous Official | Video Unavailable |
MOmbMPIisgI | Odd Thing To Be Proud Of | I'm not Norm | Private Video |
pG2KmrLeJvg | 100-year-old veteran breaks down in tears at what America has become | The Night Show | Video Unavailable |
tBGRxhPSS0c | Robert Crimo July 4th Highland Park parade Shooter | OG Sky Watch | Video Unavailable |
Ifvofnxh6gM | Transphobic Star Wars Store Aberdeen Business Owner | Harassment/Bullying | |
Jktvh6k0qys | Dr. Christina Parks testimony for Michigan HB4471 on 8_19_21 | Community Guidelines | |
FrE27FTf11Q | How Antifa and Other Far-Left Groups Exploit the Protests for ‘Revolution’ | Video Unavailable | |
-0n_kwO6j1o | The_Alex_Jones_Gun_Control_Debate_Music_Show | Video Unavailable | |
lJC1unnuwds | US Tank crushes Iraqi civilian's car 1 | Private Video | |
z4JECxddZBY | Pakistanis protest US drone strikes | Account Terminated | |
Mq62cZZ8SDs | Syria - Europe should stop supporting terrorism to stop refugees - al-Assad | Country/Region Block | |
LR-tWOfy0iw | American Woman Protest Against Drone Strikes In Pakistan at Wilson Center in Washington, DC | Account Terminated | |
zRg3iM5LLfA | CHAZ - Seattle Car Tender break in and suspect. Raw livestream with full incident in description | Unlisted | |
uQwjEBicFXI | Bank Eat Bank - Bailout Encourages Mergers | Account Terminated | |
QcwcOA_ED8w | Audio from Portland reveals Patriots are being hunted in the streets | Video Unavailable | |
bK9hPbSvcC0 | Clackamas County Police Captain Smith Tells Commissioners Antifa Starting Fires, Looting in Oregon | Account Terminated | |
1Q46AoR80M4 | Žižek-peterson-debate club | Copyright Claim | |
Ij94xBbK84c | IMG 0443 | Video Unavailable | |
iTBWn5ACtv8 | [MMD] GAY FROGS - RWBY Yang | Unlisted | |
uoRzaOpjqQg | ✅SE DESTAPA LA MENTIRA !! profesionales de Austria y Alemania REVELAN TODO !! 👹 | Private Video | |
NxOltvOfLIM | Baked Alaska We Love Our Cops Official Video PROCOP PROMILITARY ANTHEM WOW | Account Terminated | |
mkqOYmttkbk | Perspectives on the Pandemic The Undercover Epicenter Nurse Episode Nine | Account Terminated | |
V_Z9AC9-oyg | BREAKING - COVID-19 DEATH RATE EQUIVALENT TO SEASONAL FLU - IOANNIDIS STUDY | Account Terminated | |
w6IeN6sgJ3g | Ep99 - ER Doctor from Sweden Explains it all - the Science, Logic & Philosophy! | Video Unavailable | |
EAa8FLInScc | The Hidden Agenda Behind Covid 19 - Plandemic (Was Covid-19 a plan) | Video Unavailable | |
q0PBg_3iVBw | I will give you a blowjob and doughnut for a roll of toilet paper | Private Video | |
n9yKtoYxd5Q | Press Conference - America's Frontline Doctors Summit | Community Guidelines | |
ERsYzMJ7vZs | Pro-Lockdown Officials Absolutely DESTROYED by American Patriot _ MUST SEE! | Video Unavailable | |
xSDFVkF_wVE | ATTN. Medical Community!!! Could COVID 19 Be Causing DIFFUSION Hypoxemia - Cameron Kyle-Sidell | Account Terminated | |
Q_OmGcIq1CQ | TAKE BACK OUR FUTURE - A Message from the Alt Right | Account Terminated | |
qhIGrqTnOAE | Day 3 Kenosha Wisconsin + Other Major Cities _ Justice for Jacob Blake | Video Unavailable | |
kIXpxf9EKgM | Police Officer-involved shooting under investigation in Kenosha | Account Terminated | |
tx2v0Y9Ci7I | Politically Correct Tech | Private Video | |
De_eakiJGDU | Key & Peele Sum Up How Leftists Think Police Should Do Their Job | Private Video | |
txVnNM8n_OY | Alex Jones arrives Crowd Goes NUTS at Stop The Steal Rally _ Phoenix AZ Pro Trump Protest | Video Unavailable | |
bQKqbgviUKc | Montana sniffing Idaho - Idaho says NO to Joe! #Justsaynotojoe | Private Video | |
LrfXAiWSnjQ | Alex Jones Crashes #StopTheSteal Rally | Account Terminated | |
Uh4FRNMQ1FE | ELECTION INTERFERENCE In Graham North Carolina - Polls Being Blocked. #BLM Intimidating Voters | Account Terminated | |
YGxDAHJKuho | Where Are Biden's Boundaries | Unlisted | |
AevZ_T7xoI4 | Are you voting for Joe Biden | Account Terminated | |
l1qHWRsalCI | The CNN reporter fled in disgrace. | Video Unavailable | |
7PR5ryhnYtQ | Jeremy Slams Audience For Laughing At Domestic Abuse Victim _ Jeremy Kyle | Private Video | |
zncLIVBLEa0 | CHAZ - The Lost Episodes | Video Unavailable | |
6UCEvWpWDHI | White Protesters Being Asked to Give $10 to African Americans In CHAZ, Autonomous Zone Seattle | Private Video | |
m_sT5rrq9dE | CHAZ CHOP leader arrested - crying OMG!!! | Video Unavailable | |
duj8alSJ4s0 | CHAZ (Be Sure to Wear A Helmet on Your Head) | Video Unavailable | |
LgqdjtbVKEw | Sheriff David Clarke calls out Black Lives Matter and the Fake News | Account Terminated | |
yu0dR4pjbfw | BLM members kill a raccoon | Account Terminated | |
Td_m6EP0aAM | Shocking new series 'Cracka' glorifies the killing and raping of white people | Video Unavailable | |
d7JJL_HgEK0 | Black Police Officer Challenges Protestors To A Fight | Account Terminated | |
cdQtqg0koEA | Affaire Traoré - un propos bien peu galant à l'égard des juifs et des Français blancs | Video Unavailable | |
iZhdMcrBuDU | FULL Lake Orion Confrontation, White Woman Falsely Accused Of Racism | Video Unavailable | |
JxyfKQxMrQs | Two Cops Shot In Compton _ BLM Chants 'We Hope They Die' _ Anti-Police Culture In Action | Private Video | |
zBQ275GV5vk | BLM Protesters Chant 'We Hope They Die' Outside Hospital Where Two LA Deputies Are Being Treated | Video Unavailable | |
oRUWZxRmEnk | Strange Penguin | Video Unavailable | |
U1Qt6a-vaNM | JFK to 911 Everything Is A Rich Man's Trick | Account Terminated | |
ccVxEH1l7H8 | #KnitGate, Facebook leaks, Jussie hoax defenders & more | Unlisted | |
-t8xoNogO1g | Live - Protesters gather in Portland for new round of protests against federal officers | Country/Region Block | |
uuoqaHNYp0I | I WENT TO THE PORTLAND RIOT SITE!! - _GRAPHIC CONTENT | Video Unavailable | |
8bXgULtz6cI | 【三个硬盘】 Sept.24th Lude's broadcast - 3 hard drives, provided 3 hard drives to the DOJ of America | Account Terminated | |
T-gh2qQxFL8 | Gilet jaune un riverain filme le chaos sur Paris | Video Unavailable | |
LGEfbwS2o5Q | Conservatives Are FINALLY Starting To DO SOMETHING About It! | Mark Dice | Video Unavailable |
IKMmy8oXBmE | 'We See You' by Mark Attwood #SaveOurChildren | The Mark Attwood Show Adventures in a Cosmic Suit | Account Terminated |
Ul6DucrO7o4 | (Full Interview) KANYE WEST DRINK CHAMPS INTERVIEW | Ilya Glazunov | Video Unavailable |
1p-qVpm_CHU | WikiPedia EXPOSED - Why Asking For Donations? | Anti-Hindu Agenda | Part 1 | String | Account Terminated |
xBMuNEHrtXk | Jordan Peterson - If you stay with me you lose your SOUL! | Numynd TV | Unlisted |
_m-gO0HSCYk | Dave Chappelle Stand-Up Monologue - SNL | Saturday Night Live | Private Video |
GQhMatoCQaY | Kanye West admits his mom was sacrificed | Suga Honey Ice Tea | Video Unavailable |
ph5H0YFxbJI | Why NATO's Biggest Weakness is Scotland | RealLifeLore | Private Video |
qiVUUHjh74k | Ronald Reagan On Atheist | BlackConservative24 | Video Unavailable |
o7pno24XlEE | COINTELPRO⧸MKULTRA: "The long documented but suppressed history of collusion between..." (1998) | The Memory Hole | Account Terminated |
ricClhuVZp0 | “I Demanded Pap Smear & Doc Said, NO!, He Checked My Prostate: SO MAD!” (Trans woMAN) | Odins Men | Video Unavailable |
OgzdDp5qfdI | This amazing girl mastered dubstep dancing by just using YouTube | FUSION | Uploader Closed Account |
0BIWvCKwo9w | Ethan Ralph attacks Milo | VHS_Archive | Account Terminated |
oCv0mxMq-dY | 23790609_Lost video of Viola Desmond or Rosa Parks being beaten for not sitting in the back of the bus | Video Unavailable | |
f99PcP0aFNE | Series of Tubes | Account Terminated | |
WZJ1OVCXLCs | Godless America is BUILDING A RELIGION | Video Unavailable | |
_sNUYTStcRs | Why Black Lives Matter is a scam #BlackLivesMatter | Video Unavailable | |
jQUhkLFXq8Y | Color Maximite 2 - An ARM CPU that runs BASIC! | Video Unavailable | |
RwjQsqYXKnw | (PeAcEfuL pRoTeStErS ULTIMATE COMPILATION VOL 1) _ TCC | Private Video | |
-BGyTi-KdKc | Austin Police Shoot Teen in Head with Rubber Bullet at Protest | Video Unavailable | |
2u2cYA48Lbw | Black Lives Matter & Hypocrisy (by @harbirnain on Instagram) | Account Terminated | |
LYB6oD5X2_0 | Fellow Travelers on Their Knees | Video Unavailable | |
TD3GjkikUyw | Former Black Lives Matter Ferguson Organizer, Chaziel Sunz exposed BLM, Democrats, ANTIFA, etc. | Account Terminated | |
WD0dJA_u90Y | Full Restaurant Surveillance Footage of George Floyd | Account Terminated | |
kGqBcVm2xPo | IRISH BOY STABBED IN CARRIGALINE, CORK | Violent/Graphic Content | |
inFH76SuNOk | KRON 4 News 200,000 dead from CRONOVIRUS in USA Contra Costa, CA. Mon, June 1, 2020 | Account Terminated | |
vSyhqO_CZng | National Guard and police clashing with protesters in Seattle, Washington | Account Terminated | |
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f_VQ0CP2S5U | Benghazi Whistleblower explains what is Coming! | Video Unavailable | |
4rmu2-P18Is | Cars With Skeletons Burned in CA Wildfire | Video Unavailable | |
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UKcvVgv_c54 | Shondo has standards | BrattyOnii | Uploader Closed Account |
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Sf-6ZEju_JQ | The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) [Cover] | Juliana Chahayed | Unlisted |
5NMKafCmGmQ | Jews Are Living in the Sewer | S02E05 - "Tunnel Trouble!" | Vito | Unlisted |
AFf0pmvFczI | A New Groundbreaking Study Reveals There Are No Trans Kids! | The Story Box | Video Unavailable |
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5Aq2xd6ccgE | "Final Warning: America's Last Chance Before Collapse" | Victor Davis Hanson | Victor Davis Hanson | Account Terminated |
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GLNmH9ZYZNo | {4k} Wet Vs Dry T-Shirt Test | Lilly Blooms 🌸 | Video Unavailable |
74mLBul5j6Q | Cold Water Shirt Test | Lilly Blooms 🌸 | Video Unavailable |
MJBfPE3ZtiA | Cute Natural | Transparent Dress Try On Haul | Lilly Blooms 🌸 | Video Unavailable |
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F_eRVnrl5oM | TRUMPAMANIA RUNS WILD ON THE SHEEPLE! IF YOU DON'T QUESTION EVERYTHING YOU SEE ON TV YOU ARE A FOOL! | WAKE UP CALL | Account Terminated |
EJMn-AbOv1U | SECRET SERVICE SCRIPTED! NEW TRUMP BODYCAM FOOTAGE CONFIRMS HOW FAKE THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT WAS! | WAKE UP CALL | Account Terminated |
YouTube is not just Video
In the years before YouTube, videos were shared between people without regard to how they were presented or their content. One of YouTube’s original slogans was “Broadcast yourself2.” People often utilized YouTube’s features for text, link and video overlays. Those classic features have been removed, and older videos often reference onscreen links that no longer exist. However, people don’t often even see old videos, as the website favors suggesting recently published content. For a time, YouTube even removed the ability to sort by oldest videos first3. Older YouTube videos were limited to 10 or 15 minute clips, so people cut up their longer videos and used playlists for longer documentaries.
Standards and Advertising
Television networks have Standards and Practices for their shows, ensuring everything they broadcast meets certain editorial requirements4567. As Google sought to monetize YouTube, they implemented similar standards to encourage content favorable to advertisers. Blender, an open source 3D modeling tool, had a series of video tutorials on a channel they refused to monetize. This likely contributed to a suspension for their tutorial channel, leading the Blender team to start mirroring their videos to a PeerTube server they hosted themselves8.
Today we are all told to “like and subscribe,” “see the link in the description” and other instructions that help “feed the algorithm.” The old mantra of “Broadcast yourself,” died a long time ago, as did Google’s unofficial motto of “don’t be evil9.” In its early days, YouTube seems liked a much larger version of public access television. However, as it has grown, the need for advertising revenue to keep the massive video site afloat has brought about Community Guidelines. A new ridiculous vocabulary has been created by people attempting to side-step monetization rules. We now have terms like “he unalived himself” for suicide, “corn” when discussing pornography, and “pew pew” when talking about firearms.
This gradual creep has changed YouTube from a fun platform for sharing videos, into something that feels similar to the large broadcast networks that came before it. This has allowed YouTube to soak up the benefits of hundreds of thousands of young creators piloting content, while also removing the content of anyone who becomes remotely popular, who don’t align with Google’s political viewpoints.
YouTube’s API Wars
Both Reddit and X/Twitter have engaged in predatory API pricing to effectively kill all 3rd party apps and clients for their services. Nitter is a privacy frontend and proxy to Twitter that didn’t use the official API. Yet, due to changes in how the Twitter guest API worked, nearly all Nitter instances no longer work10.
YouTube has never had an official public API, but that hasn’t stopped Google from going after 3rd party developers. YouTube had the source code for youtube-dl
taken down via a DMCA request to GitHub, although it was later reinstated11. yt-dlp
has become the successor fork of the project after youtube-dl
was litigated against by the German government12. YouTube has also gone after Invidious, a self-hosted open source frontend proxy to YouTube13. Although there are dozens of Invidious instances run by independent volunteers around the world, YouTube has been more aggressive at rating limiting these servers and making them unusable.
Archive The Videos They Want to Burn
I cannot emphasize the importance of archiving content you feel is worthwhile to save. People should always have multiple local backups of the data they trust to the cloud. It’s easy for data you trust to another company’s computers to just disappear. With storage as cheap as it is today, there’s no excuse not to make regular backups of social media accounts as well. YouTube is not an archive of material. Some videos may be preserved for decades, but others can vanish in an instant. With YouTube being the largest video website on the planet, this type of censorship has far-reaching consequences when it comes to guiding stories, belief systems and narratives presented to people around the entire world.
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Format for ID of YouTube video. Slayden. Webapps StackExchange. ↩
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Archive of YouTube Landing Page. Archived 13 January 2006. ↩
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How To Bring Back Sort By Oldest On Youtube. 11 November 2022. Akiradr13. ↩
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Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones. 2019. Netflix. ↩
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Dave Chappelle - Standards & Practices. 7 September 2019. RandomSense. (Clip from Sticks & Stones) ↩
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Gee Whiz. Aqua Teen Hunger Force. 22 August 2004. (Season 3, Episode 4) ↩
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Aqua Teen Hunger Force (ATHF) - Standards and Practices. 6 July 2020. 19andoverlol. (Clip from Aqua Teeen Hunger Force S3E4). ↩
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YouTube Blocks Blender Videos Worldwide. 18 June 2018. Blender. ↩
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Google Removes ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Clause From Its Code of Conduct. 18 May 2018. Conger. Gizmodo. ↩
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Compiled + ran Nitter in Docker with no errors, yet it always shows “no items found” #1200. 2 May 2024. xbansh33. Github. ↩
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Standing up for developers: youtube-dl is back. 17 November 2020. (Updated 24 August, 2021) Vollmer. Github. ↩
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LG Hamburg, Urteil vom 31.03.2023 - 310 O 316/21. 31 March 2023. OpenJur. ↩
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YouTube Orders ‘Invidious’ Privacy Software to Shut Down in 7 Days. 9 June 2023. Maxwell. TorrentFreak. ↩