PewDiePie to Delete YouTube Channel over Sabotage Claims

Squeaky video game noisemaker Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, more commonly known as PewDiePie, is set to quit YouTube after accusing the video-sharing site of sabotaging his popular channel. In a paranoid whinge, PewDiePie claims that YouTube is deliberately leeching subscribers from his channel in order to elevate the position of YouTube personality Lilly Singh. “I will delete my channel,” he promises.

“YouTube is trying to kill my channel. It is clear. It is happening if you watch my analytics. It is all going down,” PewDiePie said. “It’s because I have so many subscribers, they are trying to kill my channel. This is all a conspiracy. YouTube wants to kill my channel. I’ve decided the only way to stop my channel from dying – I know you are going to think I am joking – but I am going to delete my channel.”

PewDiePie describes Singh as “someone extremely cancerous.” Later, he complains, turning the matter into a racial issue: “I’m white. Can I make that comment? But I do think it’s a problem.”

“I’m gonna delete my channel,” he promises. “I swear to you […] when we hit fifty million […] I am deleting my channel.”

PewDiePie isn’t planning to leave the platform entirely, though: “I’m excited to delete my channel and start fresh with a new s**tty channel, probably,” he clarified. “I won’t quit YouTube, I’ll just delete the channel.”

In a statement, a YouTube spokesperson said (via Mashable):

“Some creators have expressed concerns around a drop in their subscriber numbers. We’ve done an extensive review and found there have been no decreases in creators subscriber numbers beyond what normally happens when viewers either unsubscribe from a creator’s channel or when YouTube removes spammed subscribers. We do the latter to ensure that all creator subscriber numbers are accurate.”

So, YouTube’s analytics and spam control is trimming down the subscription figures. Hardly a “conspiracy.” It seems that the only thing in danger of being undermined here is PewDiePie’s ego.