YouTube invalid traffic bug: what 5 YouTube creators say

On November 16th, revenue for skippable ads dropped 50%, 60%, even 90% for many YouTube creators.

They say YouTube variously admits it was a bug, says it was fixed or will be fixed, or claims the payment drops are due to invalid traffic: code for “you’re cheating.”

Watch here:

However, looking at their YouTube analytics doesn’t support that claim.

In this TechFirst, I chat with 5 creators who say they were impacted by the bug … including several who have been impacted so severely they’re not sure if they’re going to be able to pay their bills, or keep creating content on YouTube.

Check out the story on Forbes

From my story on Forbes:

Multiple YouTube creators are claiming that a YouTube bug is costing them between 50% to 90% of their income, both putting their future as video creators in doubt as well as seriously harming their economic wellbeing and even their ability to financially survive.

“From around December 16th it like completely dropped,” says Hessel Broekstra, speaking about his YouTube ad revenue. “To get into numbers, I was hitting $100 days and it dropped down to like $6 days. So that is over 90% decrease, which is crazy.”

Get all the details here …

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