YouTube’s biggest solo creator PewDiePie has called out legacy media news websites and said that the current business model of many of these websites has left him wondering “what happened to journalism?”
PewDiePie began the video by responding to a question about whether there are any news sources that he actually recommends.
PewDiePie didn’t name any specific sources but said: “I think there’s definitely a couple that are… are good.”
He then discussed what he believes to be the “underlying issue” with most legacy media news sources – that a lot of journalists are incentivized in a similar way to YouTubers and paid for clicks on their articles:
“They’re highly motivated to get more people to read their article and that leads to a lot of clickbait, it leads to a lot of hot takes, and it makes me wonder what happened to journalism. When it used to be subscription-based, they didn’t have to rely on these tactics.”
PewDiePie also questioned why people give so much weight to these legacy media news websites:
“Why do we as an audience care about any of these sites anyway? Just because they have a “news” website, we give it some sort of voice of authority? When in reality, most people don’t seem to care anyway.”
Later in the video, PewDiePie also responded to a question about how the constant coverage from legacy media outlets affects his well-being.
He said that the coverage has little impact on his mental well-being and added:
“I think in general, they’re just digging their own grave at this point and it’s just a matter of time where there’s gonna be a whole new generation that don’t believe in their credibility anymore.”
PewDiePie’s comments come after he’s been featured in many misleading legacy media articles and hit pieces, some of which have led to him losing brand deals and advertising opportunities.
Most recently, PewDiePie was the subject of fake news articles that suggested he was quitting YouTube after he announced that he would be taking a break for “a little while.” PewDiePie slammed these fake news stories and said they made him feel like he had to explain why he’s taking a break, despite his fans understanding that “it’s just normal to take a break.”
