YouTube Rewind 2018 Becomes the Most Disliked Video in the History of the Platform

Last updated June 10, 2021
Written by:
Bill Toulas
Bill Toulas
Cybersecurity Journalist

YouTube’s round-up video for 2018 shows an apparent discrepancy between what the platform’s executives value as noteworthy, and what the actual viewers think of the same. The video has been up for only a week, and it has already surpassed any other in terms of dislike counts, with the counter having broken the 10 million limit. To bring this into context, the next most disliked video was Justin Bieber’s “Baby”, which managed to get disliked 9.8 million times over a period of eight years.

Considering these figures, this rapid demonstration of the viewers' disagreement with the selections that were made to represent the platform's best for 2018 is weird, to say the least. No recap video can ever be perfect in terms of having everyone satisfied, so some level of rejection by viewers is to be expected. But going on the other side of the spectrum entirely raises a new level of evidence of the contrast between what YouTube’s executives perceive as influential content, and what the userbase considers as remarkable content.

Some highlight examples of videos and creators that were not included in Youtube’s Rewind 2018 include the KSI vs. Logan Paul boxing match, PewDiePie, and Shane Dawson. PewDiePie boasts over 76 million subscribers, and his videos are watched by what would be the equivalent of the population of Sweden in a matter of days. As various users care to point out in the comments section, it is possible that multiple popular creators were left out of inclusion in the Rewind due to their being not 100% politically correct or not always having the best possible behavior. It is entirely possible that YouTube sees their Rewind project as a sterile project that needs to communicate a fake or at least a not wholly realistic image for the platform. Conveying this image to the viewers who define what this platform is though can get controversial, and this is reflected perfectly on the dislike counts.

If you haven’t done already, you may watch YouTube Rewind 2018 below.

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