Over the last 19 years, YouTube has essentially become the poster child for the concept of "enshitification." Given that the nature of technology is unquestioned progression, rarely do we dwell on what once was, especially in the digital realm. With the links provided below, we can observe the gradual shift away from personal user generated content, and the pivot towards profit chasing & appeasing traditional media powerhouses in terms of operation/sensibilities. From here, we see how the independent user has been silenced and how a hobby done for fun has turned into a cut throat business.
Please note that this page is in the midst of a massive revision from its original form.

February 1, 2004 Janet Jackson has her infamous nip slip at the Super Bowl XXXVIII haltime show. YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim cites this as the inciting incident for YouTube's creation, inspiring fellow co-founders Steve Chen and Chad Hurley began the early stages of making a website where videos could be uploaded and played whenever the user desires.

April 23, 2005 is when the first YouTube video, Me at the zoo, was uploaded onto the site by founder Jawed Karim.

September 28, 2006 features seemingly random videos from independent users, and showcases independent "active channels." While traditional media reported somewhat on the buzz the site was generating, the MSM had not bothered to really establish a presence on their themselves.

October 9, 2006 YouTube is bought by Google for $1.65 billion in Google stock

November 13, 2007 About one year after Google acquired YouTube. Promoted content that was curated for the homepage is clearly defined. Videos from independent uploaders are showcased on the homepage and getting hundreds of thousands of views.

December, 2008 Video responses are removed as a feature.

November 14, 2009 HD videos are introduced, "spotlight" content is given top priority, but there still are miscellaneous recommended videos, and a "popular section." The five star video rating system video is phased out for a “like vs dislike” system the same year.

December 25, 2009 YouTuber MeiAids hacks YouTube's front page and alters numerous video thumbnails. No Internet Archive entry for this event exists in the Wayback Machine.

March 24, 2011 YouTube debuts a video on its copyright policies in a collaboration with the Happy Tree Friends. Essentially it is a crackdown on remixes and seeks to belittle fair use policies.

March 16, 2012 still has a selection of miscellaneous user content on the homepage. Featured content is to the side and clearly defined.

April 10, 2012 Video recommendation priority has shifted from purely clicks/views to focusing more on watch time.

May 15, 2013 is when the platform began its transformation into the antithesis of its founding values. Verified accounts, TV shows, and ads are the predominant homepage content now. From here, the individual user begins to be suppressed. Moderately customizable profile pages are done away with, as the ability to select custom backgrounds, layouts, and color schemes is replaced with a standard layout that limits users to a banner image and profile picture.

November 2013 Google+ is forced onto its users. By not signing up for the failed social media platform, your YouTube account privileges are severely limited. Additionally, Google+’s integration overhauls the way comments are prioritized. Users raised concerns about the Google+ policy that forced users to reveal their real names.



February 5, 2014 Google's Susan Wojcicki, who played a major role in their initial acquisition of YouTube, became the CEO of YouTube. She would serve until February 16, 2023. During her tenure, Susan was largely despised by the YouTube userbase for her policies. She leaves behind a legcay of being a souless corporate stooge; the poster child for bastard technocrats.

July 27, 2015 YouTube reverses its forced Google+ integration after finally realizing its FaceBook competitor was a massive piece of shit. We salute Bob and his army of tanks for waging the good fight against Google+'s tyranny o7

October 21, 2015 YouTube Red, the precursor to YouTube Premium is launched. Users could now pay for an ad-free experience on the site (or you know, install a free browser extension instead...)

November 12, 2015 YouTube Music is launched, with the paid version bringing back the once free feature of letting audio play in the background on mobile devices.

June 14, 2017 Homepage videos are selected brands and content from monetized partners of the site that have a well-known presence outside of the Internet. Independent content is nowhere to be found. Professional news, movie trailers, and sports highlights. Uses the layout and curated content stream we still see in use as of 2019.

December 31, 2017 Influencer Logan Paul uploads a video of himself exploiting the corpse of a suicide victim in Japan's Aokigahara forest. Despite this incident generating international outrage, Paul recieved a slap on the wrist. His Google Preferred advertising was revoked (only to be quietly brought back a mere two months later) and he recieved a channel strike (a penalty that only lasts three months before resetting.) Yet he is still a staple of the site and uses it as a promotion to accumulate wealth through alternative means. In fact, every year since the incident he has steadily increased in popularity and wealth. As to why he was not removed entirely from YouTube, CEO Susan Wojcicki stated it was because he lacked "three strikes." She went on to say "we can’t just be pulling people off our platform... They need to violate a policy. We need to have consistent [rules]. This is like a code of law.” Yet, many users have been striked or banned from the website for far less rational reasons...

April 3, 2018 “Around 12:46 p.m. PDT, a shooting occurred at the headquarters of the video-sharing website YouTube in San Bruno, California. The shooter was identified as 38-year-old Nasim Najafi Aghdam, who entered through an exterior parking garage, approached an outdoor patio, and opened fire with a Smith & Wesson 9 mm semi-automatic pistol. Aghdam wounded three people, one of them critically, before killing herself.” Nasim took out the frustrations many YouTube users have in the most direct form possible. She was affected by a site that began using questionable tactics to limit her growth and influence. She knew the dangers of YouTube’s unchecked powers, and in a way tried to put them in their place.

“BE AWARE! Dictatorship exists in all countries but with different tactics! They only care for personal short term profits & do anything to reach their goals even by fooling simple-minded people, hiding the truth, manipulating science & everything, putting public mental & physical health at risk, abusing non-human animals, polluting environment, destroying family values, promoting materialism & sexual degeneration in the name of freedom,..... & turning people into programmed robots! "Make the lie big, Make it simple, Keep saying it, And eventually they will believe it" Adolf Hitler... There is no free speech in real world & you will be suppressed for telling the truth that is not supported by the system. Videos of targeted users are filtered & merely relegated, so that people can hardly see their videos! .There is no equal growth opportunity on YOUTUBE or any other video sharing site, your channel will grow if they want to!!!!!”
-Nasim Najafi Aghdam


April 21, 2018 Google begins phasing out its motto "Don't Be Evil."

May 1, 2019 The last remnants of YouTube’s “broadcast yourself” slogan is scrubbed from the site. The individual user is secondary to the profitable mainstream media that latched itself onto the platform and asserted their control over it.

Summer 2019 Google formally removes the video annotation feature.

September 4, 2019 "Google LLC and its subsidiary YouTube, LLC will pay a record $170 million to settle allegations by the Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General that the YouTube video sharing service illegally collected personal information from children without their parents’ consent."

September 18, 2019 YouTube removes the direct messaging feature.

Fall 2019 The practice of “fact checking" begins on YouTube. If I recall correctly, YouTube was the first site I ever saw utilize these. This technique of narrative controlling was heavily expanded during 2020, but prior it was utilized on broad searches related to some controversial topics. I'm glad that YouTube added a feature to remind us that the US government totally does nothing wrong or at the very least sketchy, because the US government would never harm or lie it’s own citizens, obviously.

February 2020 Alphabet Inc reveals YouTube's revenue for the first time, with 2019 seeing an estimated $15 billion USD. YouTube was initially purchased for $1.65 billion USD in 2006. I guess that wasn't enough for them, as of June 2021 their terms of service update now gives them the power to place ads on any and all videos, including channels that do not qualify for a monetized partnership program. These video makers will not see a single cent of that revenue.


April 15, 2021 CEO Susan Wojcicki essentially gave herself an award for “Free Expression” in a virtual Freedom Forum Institute ceremony sponsored by YouTube. And if that’s not sketchy enough, Esther Wojcicki, Susan’s mother, is an active member of the “Freedom Forum’s” council. I’m sure this was an impartial decision made with all the years of deleting, demonetizing, and shadow banning videos and comments in mind...this is gaslighting at it’s finest. If you want a good laugh, check out the comment section on the official video of Susan’s acceptance speech.

May 28, 2021 YouTube is experimenting with removing the dislike button’s function entirely (again.) While this has been ongoing since March, I was forced to participate as a Guinea pig as of today.

June 2021 YouTube can now monetize any and all videos, including channels that do not qualify for a monetized partnership program. These video makers will not see a single cent of that revenue.

July 23, 2021 A large portion of unlisted YouTube videos (pre-2017 uploads) are locked behind private status and unlisted Google Drive links are broken in a similar fashion as well.

October 7, 2021 YouTube removes the ability for climate change deniers/skeptics to monetize their videos.

November 10, 2021 YouTube completely does away with publicly viewable dislike ratios. They have rendered useless a core function of the site that has been in place since its inception. By removing the ability to see dislike counts, viewers will be more susceptible to watching through junk/misleading content.

September 13, 2023 In an attempt to increase YouTube Premium subscriptions, The War on Ad-Blockers begins. YouTube attempts to disrupt the browsing/viewing experience for users relying on free extensions to skip advertisements.






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