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YouTube has removed Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg's much-talked-about Cocomelon diss track from his channel for violating the company's child safety, cyberbullying, and harassment rules.
Fans of the 31-year-old were in for a shock after being greeted by the following ominous message upon clicking on the video:
Daniel "Keemstar" Keem provided the low-down on the incident, sharing screengrabs of why exactly YouTube decided to take down a video of their most notable creator:
In reply to a Twitter user who called them out for removing the Cocomelon diss track, YouTube's social media handle explained:
"To clarify, this violated two policies 1) Child safety: by looking like it was made for kids but containing inappropriate content (incl violence) 2) Harassment: we allow criticism & also diss tracks in some cases, but w/ both policies in mind, this video crossed the line. "
They also stated that any kind of reupload or clip from the original would instantly be taken down, although they will make an exception for still images.
With YouTube striking one of the world's biggest creators, Twitter was abuzz with a slew of reactions as a whole new debate raged online.
Fans respond as YouTube takes down PewDiePie's Coco
In his latest diss track titled "Coco," PewDiePie fires shots at children's nursery thyme channel Cocomelon.
The channel currently has 105 million subscribers and is very close to dethroning PewDiePie from the second spot. The Swedish YouTuber criticizes their content in the video and mocks kids whose parents allow them to watch Cocomelon.
While the video is replete with double entendres and sly jibes directed at the likes of Tekashi 6ix9ine and JK Rowling, a section of the online community wanted to cancel PewDiePie for allegedly making kids swear.
The use of expletive language, coupled with one particular section where he hands over plastic weapons to the kids, seems to be the two distinct factors behind YouTube removing his song.
Surprisingly, this move comes right after PewDiePie clarified that he had a censored version on set and that he did not make kids swear.
As reported by The Verge, the removal of Coco did not result in a strike for the content creator's channel, but further violations of YouTube's stringent policies may very well result in one.
In a statement to The Verge, a YouTube spokesperson explained the decision to take action against PewDiePie:
"Our policies prohibit content that leads to repeated patterns of harassment on- and off-platform. Following a review, we've removed the video in question for violating those policies because they had the effect of encouraging abusive fan behavior."
In the wake of YouTube removing Coco, several fans took to Twitter to voice their discontent:
YouTube's decision to clamp down on PewDiePie's Cocomelon diss track has undoubtedly given rise to several burning questions.
What makes the entire situation all the more questionable is that according to YouTube policy, diss tracks are listed explicitly in the "Exceptions" section, as a result of which they do not come under the gamut of surveillance.
With YouTube censorship continuing to rear its ugly head, it seems like Coco's removal has sparked a whole new debate on what constitutes edgy content today.
