What is Thumb Media? Agency under fire as Adin Ross and IShowSpeed get accused of copyright striking YouTubers

Thumb Media has been making headlines for months, and several YouTubers claim that they have received copyright strikes from the agency. They are seemingly targeting channels that feature clips and highlights from content creators (such as Adin Ross and Darren &quot;IShowSpeed&quot;) and reporting them for copyright violations: Who is Thumb Media Affiliate and why did I got claimed by them. by u/unknownguy112 in youtube On April 30, 2023, Adin Ross garnered attention when he celebrated after issuing a DMCA strike to a YouTuber and pocketing $8,000 in ad revenue:Internet Anarchist@internetanarchAdin Ross celebrating his false claims on my content.YouTube needs to do something to stop people like this from opening abusing the system to bully smaller creators.287831403Adin Ross celebrating his false claims on my content.YouTube needs to do something to stop people like this from opening abusing the system to bully smaller creators. https://t.co/RwDMMExP3eThe situation prompted prominent internet figures, like The Act Man, to call for action from those who received claims from Thumb Media and another agency called Cardigan:The Act Man@TheActMan_YTATTENTION! If you are a content creator that had a video copyright claimed by Adin Ross or iShowspeed through Thumb Media, Cardigan or something else then please reply to this with screenshots of the claim or feel free to DM me.I must make preparations12553770ATTENTION! If you are a content creator that had a video copyright claimed by Adin Ross or iShowspeed through Thumb Media, Cardigan or something else then please reply to this with screenshots of the claim or feel free to DM me.I must make preparationsJake &quot;JakeSucky&quot; Lucky also weighed in and claimed that the agency was allegedly striking creators on behalf of IShowSpeed and Adin Ross. He also mentioned the latter going against Twitch star Hasan &quot;HasanAbi&quot;:Jake Lucky@JakeSuckyThumb Media has been false copyright striking creators for months on behalf of IShowSpeed and now Adin RossThe Speed stuff blew over because it wasn’t any gigantic creators they had struck. But pretty ballsy of them to then strike Hasan as if this wouldn’t get giant attention6357157Thumb Media has been false copyright striking creators for months on behalf of IShowSpeed and now Adin RossThe Speed stuff blew over because it wasn’t any gigantic creators they had struck. But pretty ballsy of them to then strike Hasan as if this wouldn’t get giant attentionJake Lucky@JakeSuckyIt was also easy to defend Speed because at first he acted confused why Thumb was striking his fans, then he admitted it was him doing itBut with Adin being so careless I imagine this now has YouTube’s attention9729It was also easy to defend Speed because at first he acted confused why Thumb was striking his fans, then he admitted it was him doing itBut with Adin being so careless I imagine this now has YouTube’s attentionIs IShowSpeed affiliated with Thumb Media? Taking a deep dive into the controversyThumb Media came into the spotlight last year (in August 2022) when YouTubers claimed that they were receiving copyright claims for featuring IShowSpeed in their videos. JabroneyTV, a YouTube personality, stated that he contacted the Ohio native to confirm if he was associated with the company in any way:Jabroney@JabroneyTVThere’s a company called Thumb Media Affilliate that’s been striking commentary YouTubers who talk about iShowSpeed. I’m not sure if this company is actually affiliated with Speed or if they’re just falsely striking videos. I DM’ed speed to see if he can confirm.8515There’s a company called Thumb Media Affilliate that’s been striking commentary YouTubers who talk about iShowSpeed. I’m not sure if this company is actually affiliated with Speed or if they’re just falsely striking videos. I DM’ed speed to see if he can confirm.Jabroney@JabroneyTVIn the mean time, I’m going to dispute the claim as my video falls well within fair use guidelines. If they want to sue me, bring it on. I’m not gonna give this one up. I’m really proud of the video and confident that it’s 100% legal.242In the mean time, I’m going to dispute the claim as my video falls well within fair use guidelines. If they want to sue me, bring it on. I’m not gonna give this one up. I’m really proud of the video and confident that it’s 100% legal. https://t.co/4cSQZLpsaTFast forward to February 5, 2023, Jabroney posted a 20-minute video to his alternate YouTube channel, Jabrangus, titled YouTube's Biggest Copyright Troll Just Outed Himself. The content creator displayed the message he received from the Google-owned platform after being struck by the agency:&quot;They said, 'Hi, Jabroney. A copyright owner using Content ID has claimed some material in your video. Your video is live and the visibility settings you selected remain applied to it. But it is now either being monetized by the copyright owner, or they have chosen to receive analytics about it.' It was copyrighted by DRM Protection for Cardigan Media by Aegis.tm. Claimed by Thumb Media Affiliate.&quot;At the nine-minute mark, Jabroney revealed a private Instagram conversation someone had with the organization, in which the latter seemingly confirmed that they managed copyright on behalf of IShowSpeed:&quot;On July 25, someone had DM'd Thumb Media on Instagram and asked if they owned the copyright of IShowSpeed. And they replied saying, 'Yes, Thumb Media manages copyright on behalf of IShowSpeed.' And people in Speed's community wanted to know, 'Are you actually claiming all these people's videos?'&quot;Timestamp: 03:10Jabroney also showcased a video in which IShowSpeed discovered a post on his subreddit where fans expressed their opinions after being targeted by the agency. The 18-year-old streamer was perplexed by the situation and remarked:&quot;Chat, how do I... like, chat, how do I stop this from happening? Because, like, this is not happening to me! Like, chat, how do I, like, stop this from happening?&quot;Jake Lucky@JakeSuckyIShowSpeed has called out a company known as Thumb Media for false copyrighting people who post his clipsThe company has been claiming multiple YouTubers videos for months now with nobody seemingly knowing who they are9687196IShowSpeed has called out a company known as Thumb Media for false copyrighting people who post his clipsThe company has been claiming multiple YouTubers videos for months now with nobody seemingly knowing who they are https://t.co/Mu6sVUWebhJake Lucky@JakeSuckySeveral people continue to be copyright claimed by them, and when someone asked them about it, they said they are claiming on behalf of Speed, despite him seemingly not knowing about it...They are a Portuguese based MCN claiming to manage on his behalf219216Several people continue to be copyright claimed by them, and when someone asked them about it, they said they are claiming on behalf of Speed, despite him seemingly not knowing about it...They are a Portuguese based MCN claiming to manage on his behalf https://t.co/MHknY18JC0At the 16-minute mark, Jabroney referred to a YouTube Shorts clip in which IShowSpeed revealed that he was behind the copyright strikes:&quot;YouTube asks y'all to stop spamming about these emails. About the Cardigan and the Thumb Media Affiliate. That is me. Just wanted to let y'all know that. So would y'all guys, please stop. Thank y'all. Love y'all.&quot;What did the online community have to say about the controversy?The Act Man and Jake Lucky's social media updates went viral, and here's what the online community had to say about the situation:Marzzman Gaming@MarzzmanGaming@TheActMan_YT Act Attorney 2: Content Creator Clash66110@TheActMan_YT Act Attorney 2: Content Creator Clash https://t.co/pz1AgPFEHL𝕠𝕡𝕥𝕚₉⁹₉ ⛩@SubToOptimus@TheActMan_YT Got hit for ~50 seconds of a 13 minute video, equating to about 5.5% of the total video. Obvious fair use case here and a false claim issued by Thumb Media Affiliate!2356@TheActMan_YT Got hit for ~50 seconds of a 13 minute video, equating to about 5.5% of the total video. Obvious fair use case here and a false claim issued by Thumb Media Affiliate! https://t.co/b6axJpleyeAdam Neal@officernealy@TheActMan_YT I’m rooting for you Act Man, but be careful. Not from Adin Ross but from YouTube itself. They did you dirty with the Quantam saga and I don’t want them to make a sequel.18@TheActMan_YT I’m rooting for you Act Man, but be careful. Not from Adin Ross but from YouTube itself. They did you dirty with the Quantam saga and I don’t want them to make a sequel.Lucepticon@Lucepticon@TheActMan_YT One of my video was claimed by Thumb Media but I probably wouldn’t share it since it’s more of your content credit than my credit. 🤷&zwj;♂️4@TheActMan_YT One of my video was claimed by Thumb Media but I probably wouldn’t share it since it’s more of your content credit than my credit. 🤷&zwj;♂️Maddyx@justmaddyx@JakeSucky I was also false copyright striked on behalf of IShowSpeed. I tried to dispute it with no luck..8@JakeSucky I was also false copyright striked on behalf of IShowSpeed. I tried to dispute it with no luck..Osama@usamafareed2@JakeSucky They are gonna get sued by YT if this keeps blowing up6@JakeSucky They are gonna get sued by YT if this keeps blowing upAdin Ross retracted the copyright claims he filed against YouTubers on May 2, 2023. HasanAbi reacted to the news on his livestream and confirmed that the DMCA claim filed by the Florida native against him had been dropped.

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