YouTube Responds to Lower Views, Discord E2EE Plans, and AI vs Human Streamer Sales

Hello and welcome to the recap!

Have you been paying attention to the discussion around YouTube views? To give you a quick recap, starting about a month ago, many creators began to see lower view counts on their videos. (Something that YouTube creators obviously pay close attention to.) At the same time, these creators saw higher Likes on their videos relative to views, while earning roughly the same amount from ads, and similar engagement through comments, affiliate clicks, etc. Initially, creators thought it was YouTube's new AI Age Estimation tooling, combined with "Restricted Mode." However, the latter wouldn't explain why views were the only negative aspect, while everything else remained similar. More recently, creators narrowed it down to Desktop views experiencing the most significant impact. This leads us to today, where YouTube has responded. They initially say that Restricted Mode is not likely to be the cause of the viewership drop. Instead, they point to a variety of other factors, including how ad blockers may cause issues with view count accuracy. That part seems the most likely from my perspective and would make the most sense business-wise. That said, it will absolutely harm creators who insert their own sponsors and sell those spots based on view counts.

It's interesting how both Twitch and YouTube made changes to viewership within the same month... anyway, with that, let's jump into the rest of the news!

🟪 TWITCH

• My Twitchcon 2025 Party + Event List is in early access for Premium Members. It'll be available for all newsletter subscribers next week!
• New Badges: Video Game (Download Clip), Borderlands 4 ($), VCT Paris 2025 ($)
• New Global Emotes: Player2 (Watch Guest Star), Borderlands 4 (Watch Guest Star)
• Turkish viewership on Twitch has collapsed below 2016 Watch Hours totals.

🟥 YOUTUBE

• YouTube is expanding Multi-Language Audio and is working on multi-language thumbnails.
• YouTube had a 'record-breaking' debut for its NFL stream, with 17.3M average-minute-audience. Multiple streamers were "Watch With" partners, enabling them to share their commentary.
• According to Josh Strife and many other YouTubers, the platform has significantly reduced view count on desktop devices.
• Breaking: YouTube has responded to this issue, saying it's not Restricted Mode, but rather a combination of other factors, including Ad Blockers.

⬛ TIKTOK

• TikTok Studio is releasing a redesigned experience.
• Creators are getting an Enhanced Inbox on TikTok.
• A TikTok deal may have been reached, according to a Trump post.

🟦 DISCORD & TWITTER X

• Discord is planning to bring end-to-end encryption to all platforms, browsers, and consoles by March 1st, 2026.
• Brands are using Discord to reach niche influencers.