autopsy of the ten most common causes

Non-compliance with the rules, cyberharassment, buzz… The cessation of activity of a YouTube account, not always wanted or planned, is also sometimes the result of a well-established production strategy. Here is an anthology of frequent burials.

Deletion for non-compliance with the rules of use

Disinformation, promotion of violence, non-respect of copyright… This is the most common lethal cause. Every quarter, YouTube lists the number of channels deleted and the reasons for their disappearance – more than 3 million between April and June 2024. In this game, many French YouTubers have already been sanctioned, in particular far-right personalities such as the essayist Alain Soral and the influencer Papacito or the former comedian Dieudonné.

Lack of power

No more notifications from Marion Séclin or the Periwinkles and Coquillages duo. Some designers close up shop without warning and with complete discretion. Like the Le Mock literature chain, with a fragile economic model. “Making videos with such ambition requires so much energy and time that it was no longer suited to our personal situations,” explains doctoral student Nicolas “Redek”. After ten years of running it, its co-founders embarked on new popularization projects for “regain energy” and creativity.

Natural death

Cédric Villain had planned everything from the start: his history series It is a human horror would contain 45 episodes, and not one more. “I maintained this goal and then released a book following my final video, which allowed the project to be completed coherently,” explains the graphic designer and professional teacher. From his three years of creation, he has happy memories: “It’s an incredible way to express yourself. » His 350,000 subscribers sometimes remember him with affectionate messages, “except that they have no power over my return, that’s what’s also beautiful about this approach”.

The malicious killing

About ten years ago, Jérémie Kenubuhl gained a little notoriety with his Call of Duty videos under the nickname Angelox5. With 20,000 subscribers, the 14-year-old was doing well until a malicious friend deleted his channel with all its content. Impossible to get my hands on again. “I was devastated. It was my world, what allowed me to create connections,” the medical student remembers today, without bitterness. The Alsatian decided to return to the networks in 2019 under the pseudonym Doctor JFK, and released a book. “This unforeseen ending helped me grow and imagine something else. »

Algorithmic exhaustion

In September, Jean-Pierre Robelin, the creator of the Le Potager de Lunas chain, appeared in a t-shirt in front of his greenhouses. But this time, not to talk about gardening. The title of his video? “I stop YouTube, a new page turns. » Three seasons and 351 publications later, the 68-year-old retiree has decided to take off. “I didn’t want to harp and I didn’t want to be dependent on the algorithm. » He launched himself on YouTube as a challenge, to prove to the teenagers he hosted in his host family that he was capable of it. Sabrina Bennoui, specialist in the Arab world, evokes a similar feeling. His channel ran out of steam until it was stopped in 2022. “It was exhausting producing videos,” confesses this former journalist. Between the hateful comments and the difficulty of keeping up with the pace demanded by the algorithm, weariness won out.

Cyberbullying

Threats, insults, organized attacks… A 2022 Ipsos survey commissioned by the association Féministes contre le cyberharassment indicates that 84% of victims are women. Sabrina Bennoui is one of them. The former videographer says she received comments so violent that she no longer watched them and had set up filters to block some of them. Many creators on the platform have been victims of cyberharassment, like Marion Séclin, who even made a documentary about it, I salute you bitch. This online hatred may cause them to end their presence on YouTube. Sabrina Bennoui insists: “At some point, I’m not here to get hit. »

YouTuber burnout

The issue flooded the media in 2023 after alerts and successive pauses from popular personalities like McFly & Carlito, Squeezie or Mastu. The race for the spectacular, for the audience and the sometimes cumbersome place of a community to satisfy are some of the reasons for this intense fatigue of creators. If, for the most part, the cessation of video production only lasted a few months, others have drawn a line under their activity, like Antoine Daniel or Diablox9. The latter told the microphone of the streamer Gotaga how his daily life as a YouTuber had taken precedence over everything else, to the point of putting an end to a healthy career.

The divorce between co-creators

This is the case that has occupied the world of YouTube in recent months: the end of the channel dedicated to the automobile Vilebrequin. While its co-founders mentioned their burnout to explain the cessation of their successful company, they are now tearing each other apart through videos over the reasons for this disastrous outcome. Score-settling that has the capacity to fuel the click machine.

Fake funerals to create buzz

A little slack? A desire to talk about yourself? We can no longer count the number of touting videos signaling an imaginary end to attract Internet users, notably the 1^is april. The practice is sometimes part of a broader strategy. In January, the very popular Theodort deleted all of his content and announced his departure from the platform, which suggested a definitive goodbye. His team nevertheless affirms: “Everything was thought out in advance to create a buzz and provoke its new narrative arc. » It should therefore return to YouTube soon.

The death of the YouTuber

YouTube has grown in popularity over the past fifteen years. In fact, there are still few deaths among videographers, as Astronogeek analyzed in a recent episode on the subject. But what happens when one of them dies? Very often, the chains turn off on their own, unless the rights holders wish to continue the work started by the deceased. It also happens that creators gain popularity post-mortem. This is the case of Belgian Maxence Cappelle, whose death generated thousands of subscriptions and the creation of several tribute channels.

As a bonus, post-mortem videos

« So if you’re watching me, I’m dead » [« Si vous me regardez, c’est que je suis mort », ndlr]announced the American Paul Harrell at the beginning of October on his channel dedicated to firearms. The YouTuber, who was suffering from cancer, had prepared for his big departure. Until recording a farewell published after his disappearance. He is not the only one to have considered it. The most followed videographer on the platform, MrBeast, has revealed one of his new eccentric projects: he has already filmed around fifteen episodes to be published after his death. Makes you wonder if his chain will ever end.