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YouTube thought my Steam Deck video was 'harmful and dangerous'

By - | Views: 35,480

Here is your daily dose of what the heck? YouTube and the mighty algorithm decided for no apparent reason, that my Steam Deck video was "harmful and dangerous".

Over the last few months the GamingOnLinux YouTube channel has managed to gain around triple the amount of followers it once had. This is mainly due to the Steam Deck, and my decision to cover updates to it both in articles and in short concise videos (and people seem to really like the format).

According to YouTube though, this video was just a step too far:

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An email lands in my inbox from YouTube, noting it was removed for violations against their "harmful and dangerous policy". That's right, the Steam Deck is a dangerous weapon and we should all need to carry around a license or something? Perhaps having two of them and dual-wielding is just too much for YouTube.

Thankfully, after going through the appeals process, the video was restored.

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It's another reminder that moderation bots are stupid and having all your eggs in one basket is not a great idea either.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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About the author -
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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Cyril Aug 20, 2022
Quoting: Lamdarer
Quoting: CyrilSorry guys, but the only real good alternative out there is Peertube.
Biggest downside is that there is not really a PeerTube Player for Desktop not to mention one which bundles YT and PeerTube. Thats why I mostly watch YT with FreeTube on Desktop maybe I should try setting up NewPipe for Linux.
PS: There is TubeFeeder but it doesnt really work and is mainly designed for Linux Phones.

Hmm, what do you mean by "PeerTube Player for Desktop"? NewPipe/Freetube exist only for Youtube because the site is "shit" for many reasons.
There is no need for this kind of player on Desktop for Peertube seriously... For Android maybe, but you could use anything you want, Peertube is not Youtube, it doesn't restrict you...
Plus, I think the use of "apps" for everything is just a bad practice from the mobile world...


Last edited by Cyril on 20 August 2022 at 2:46 pm UTC
Lamdarer Aug 20, 2022
Quoting: Cyril
Quoting: Lamdarer
Quoting: CyrilSorry guys, but the only real good alternative out there is Peertube.
Biggest downside is that there is not really a PeerTube Player for Desktop not to mention one which bundles YT and PeerTube. Thats why I mostly watch YT with FreeTube on Desktop maybe I should try setting up NewPipe for Linux.
PS: There is TubeFeeder but it doesnt really work and is mainly designed for Linux Phones.

Hmm, what do you mean by "PeerTube Player for Desktop"? NewPipe/Freetube exist only for Youtube because the site is "shit" for many reasons.
There is no need for this kind of player on Desktop for Peertube seriously... For Android maybe, but you could use anything you want, Peertube is not Youtube, it doesn't restrict you...
Plus, I think the use of "apps" for everything is just a bad practice from the mobile world...

I find it difficult to be subscribed and keep track of so many PeerTube channels just from Mastodon, sure I could create a PeerTube account but than there is the think with settings or blocked instances etc and also the combined Feed from NewPipe is just beautiful and something I really miss on desktop. It just isnt convenient to watch PeerTube videos or to simply keep track of the good ones and the nice to have ones just within the Browser from Mastodon alone(I had a PeerTube account in the past but also didnt like it there).
Appelsin Aug 21, 2022
Quoting: ShabbyXWhile this was obviously a bug in their algorithm, said algorithm is also preventing brainwash videos from turning your child into a terrorist, racist etc.

Except that it doesn’t, though. Isn’t rabbit-holing just what the algorithm does? To keep you in the platform, which is the task/goal of the algorithm that recommended the next videos, you will be shown incrementally more and more “extreme” variations of what you seem to react positively too (positive, as in you click it and stay on the platform, not that it actually affects you in a positive way).

And it doesn’t discriminate if it’s brainwashing in favor of crazy left or of crazy right.

Also, if they’re big enough, they mostly get away with what would otherwise be deemed “extreme” views if uttered by a less prominent/profitable figure, no matter which of the «mainstream extremes» they promote. And from there, down the hole you go.


Last edited by Appelsin on 21 August 2022 at 10:19 am UTC
areamanplaysgame Aug 21, 2022
Quoting: ShabbyXWhile this was obviously a bug in their algorithm, said algorithm is also preventing brainwash videos from turning your child into a terrorist, racist etc.

Would you have rathered such an algorithm not exist? People should bear in mind the terrible complexity that such an algorithm entails. Can *you* code such an algorithm? If not, you can't expect it all to work flawlessly.

I don't think you've seen what's actually on YouTube Kids.

Let's just say you don't need to leave your kids alone with YouTube.
Purple Library Guy Aug 21, 2022
Quoting: AppelsinAnd it doesn’t discriminate if it’s brainwashing in favor of crazy left or of crazy right.
There is some evidence this may not be the case in practice, and this is understandable theoretically: While the radical left and radical right would both make significant differences to the average person's life should they take over, the radical right wouldn't make much difference to the prosperity of the very rich, and might actually increase their wealth and power still further. So owners of platforms have no reason to see them as a serious threat. Whereas the radical left could significantly impact the fortunes of the very wealthy even if they merely became influential enough to shift the "Overton Window" to where 70s-style redistributive taxation became feasible. So owners of platforms have strong motivation to keep left wing talk out of view.
Disclaimer: I'm a crazy leftist, so my position may be biased.
ElamanOpiskelija Aug 22, 2022
Dangerously inflicting FOMO on the rest of us who are still on the Steam Deck waiting queue!
Appelsin Aug 25, 2022
Quoting: Purple Library Guy
Quoting: AppelsinAnd it doesn’t discriminate if it’s brainwashing in favor of crazy left or of crazy right.
There is some evidence this may not be the case in practice, and this is understandable theoretically: While the radical left and radical right would both make significant differences to the average person's life should they take over, the radical right wouldn't make much difference to the prosperity of the very rich, and might actually increase their wealth and power still further. So owners of platforms have no reason to see them as a serious threat. Whereas the radical left could significantly impact the fortunes of the very wealthy even if they merely became influential enough to shift the "Overton Window" to where 70s-style redistributive taxation became feasible. So owners of platforms have strong motivation to keep left wing talk out of view.
Disclaimer: I'm a crazy leftist, so my position may be biased.

A very good point, which I do agree with.

However, this depends on what is meant by "crazy left/right". Since I do consider myself among the crazy left to which you refer (those in favour of redistributive taxation and other such policies), this is of course not what I mean by "crazy left", though it's still crazy according to other points of view than mine This is more the classical skandinavian socialist / social democratic left, to which I'm a card carrying memeber (being Norwegian, that may not be so strange).
This is, as you say, not something which the platform holders (or anyone else with lots of power and money) wish to promote. And even if it is somewhat in vogue these days, even in the US, it's not the sexiest part of modern leftism, and doesn't elicit the same emotional response as other lefty interests.

To specify what I mean by "crazy left": The modern emotional Twitter-left, which more or less acts as the current counterpart to the "alt-right", i.e. the radical (racist anti-racist) parts and offshoots of the BLM movement, the anti-biology gender crowd (e.g. in sports, "a man who became a trans-woman and have gone through male puberty doesn't hold any physical advantage over a biological woman, because there's no biological difference between men and women, it's only social conditioning"), and the "disagreeing with me, or giving me information that I don't like, is equivalent to an assault on my mental and physical person", where a heterodox view on anything is unacceptable.
Like the conspi-right, this part of the left is easly manipulated by those with the power to do so, either for profit (Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, etc) or foreign interests (e.g. it's known that Russia have used social media and the racial tensions post-Floyd to stir up and mobilise Twitter-left outrage, to further deepen the US political tribalism).

Thankfully, in Norway, we're not quite at US levels of hysteria (on either side), but we're slowly but surely importing the culture war here too, since neither far side want to miss out on the action and the opportunity to be ahead of the curve.


Last edited by Appelsin on 25 August 2022 at 7:24 am UTC
Purple Library Guy Aug 25, 2022
Quoting: Appelsin
Quoting: Purple Library Guy
Quoting: AppelsinAnd it doesn’t discriminate if it’s brainwashing in favor of crazy left or of crazy right.
There is some evidence this may not be the case in practice, and this is understandable theoretically: While the radical left and radical right would both make significant differences to the average person's life should they take over, the radical right wouldn't make much difference to the prosperity of the very rich, and might actually increase their wealth and power still further. So owners of platforms have no reason to see them as a serious threat. Whereas the radical left could significantly impact the fortunes of the very wealthy even if they merely became influential enough to shift the "Overton Window" to where 70s-style redistributive taxation became feasible. So owners of platforms have strong motivation to keep left wing talk out of view.
Disclaimer: I'm a crazy leftist, so my position may be biased.

A very good point, which I do agree with.

However, this depends on what is meant by "crazy left/right". Since I do consider myself among the crazy left to which you refer (those in favour of redistributive taxation and other such policies), this is of course not what I mean by "crazy left", though it's still crazy according to other points of view than mine This is more the classical skandinavian socialist / social democratic left, to which I'm a card carrying memeber (being Norwegian, that may not be so strange).
This is, as you say, not something which the platform holders (or anyone else with lots of power and money) wish to promote. And even if it is somewhat in vogue these days, even in the US, it's not the sexiest part of modern leftism, and doesn't elicit the same emotional response as other lefty interests.

To specify what I mean by "crazy left": The modern emotional Twitter-left, which more or less acts as the current counterpart to the "alt-right", i.e. the radical (racist anti-racist) parts and offshoots of the BLM movement, the anti-biology gender crowd (e.g. in sports, "a man who became a trans-woman and have gone through male puberty doesn't hold any physical advantage over a biological woman, because there's no biological difference between men and women, it's only social conditioning"), and the "disagreeing with me, or giving me information that I don't like, is equivalent to an assault on my mental and physical person", where a heterodox view on anything is unacceptable.
Like the conspi-right, this part of the left is easly manipulated by those with the power to do so, either for profit (Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, etc) or foreign interests (e.g. it's known that Russia have used social media and the racial tensions post-Floyd to stir up and mobilise Twitter-left outrage, to further deepen the US political tribalism).

Thankfully, in Norway, we're not quite at US levels of hysteria (on either side), but we're slowly but surely importing the culture war here too, since neither far side want to miss out on the action and the opportunity to be ahead of the curve.
Ah, I see what you mean. I'm a bit of a traditionalist; I don't really see most of the identity-politics crowd as "left". For me, left and right are about economics and social class, and in North America, particularly the US, most of the most strident identity politics types are actually either centrist or even fairly right wing about economics. Frankly, IMO they have to frantically double down on the identity politics precisely because they have no real politics that would make much difference to anything.
slaapliedje Aug 25, 2022
Quoting: Purple Library Guy
Quoting: Appelsin
Quoting: Purple Library Guy
Quoting: AppelsinAnd it doesn’t discriminate if it’s brainwashing in favor of crazy left or of crazy right.
There is some evidence this may not be the case in practice, and this is understandable theoretically: While the radical left and radical right would both make significant differences to the average person's life should they take over, the radical right wouldn't make much difference to the prosperity of the very rich, and might actually increase their wealth and power still further. So owners of platforms have no reason to see them as a serious threat. Whereas the radical left could significantly impact the fortunes of the very wealthy even if they merely became influential enough to shift the "Overton Window" to where 70s-style redistributive taxation became feasible. So owners of platforms have strong motivation to keep left wing talk out of view.
Disclaimer: I'm a crazy leftist, so my position may be biased.

A very good point, which I do agree with.

However, this depends on what is meant by "crazy left/right". Since I do consider myself among the crazy left to which you refer (those in favour of redistributive taxation and other such policies), this is of course not what I mean by "crazy left", though it's still crazy according to other points of view than mine This is more the classical skandinavian socialist / social democratic left, to which I'm a card carrying memeber (being Norwegian, that may not be so strange).
This is, as you say, not something which the platform holders (or anyone else with lots of power and money) wish to promote. And even if it is somewhat in vogue these days, even in the US, it's not the sexiest part of modern leftism, and doesn't elicit the same emotional response as other lefty interests.

To specify what I mean by "crazy left": The modern emotional Twitter-left, which more or less acts as the current counterpart to the "alt-right", i.e. the radical (racist anti-racist) parts and offshoots of the BLM movement, the anti-biology gender crowd (e.g. in sports, "a man who became a trans-woman and have gone through male puberty doesn't hold any physical advantage over a biological woman, because there's no biological difference between men and women, it's only social conditioning"), and the "disagreeing with me, or giving me information that I don't like, is equivalent to an assault on my mental and physical person", where a heterodox view on anything is unacceptable.
Like the conspi-right, this part of the left is easly manipulated by those with the power to do so, either for profit (Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, etc) or foreign interests (e.g. it's known that Russia have used social media and the racial tensions post-Floyd to stir up and mobilise Twitter-left outrage, to further deepen the US political tribalism).

Thankfully, in Norway, we're not quite at US levels of hysteria (on either side), but we're slowly but surely importing the culture war here too, since neither far side want to miss out on the action and the opportunity to be ahead of the curve.
Ah, I see what you mean. I'm a bit of a traditionalist; I don't really see most of the identity-politics crowd as "left". For me, left and right are about economics and social class, and in North America, particularly the US, most of the most strident identity politics types are actually either centrist or even fairly right wing about economics. Frankly, IMO they have to frantically double down on the identity politics precisely because they have no real politics that would make much difference to anything.
"We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives." - Tyler Durden
clatterfordslim Aug 27, 2022
QuoteIt's another reminder that moderation bots are stupid and having all your eggs in one basket is not a great idea either.


As good as technology is, just goes to show how we are not at the point where bots are making bots?
Human errors in the programming of them, on what to look out for in the YouTube realm? Loads of people getting age restrictions on the game Mortuary Assistant. Some YouTube creators were getting age restrictions, whilst others posting the same content were not. I always thought that if you set your content up as not being for kids, then that means for adults only.

Obviously YouTube creators who are making a living out of YouTube, want as many people to see their content as possible, but then why put a choice of for kids and not for kids when uploading video, if it isn't read properly by the bot, that is in place to make sure that the content being uploaded is stated as such by the up-loader??

YouTube relies too much on tech to do their job. To go through a billion odd videos a day, can not be kept an eye on by human eye alone. They need to pull in their bots and go through the code though, as the amount of errors these bots are making is diabolical. All it does is confuse the hell out of the the content creator. They also need to make their guidelines more transparent, as the bot does not tell creators as to why their video has had to have an age restriction? Or what part of the video is deemed age restrictive?
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