Gamer Nexus vs. Linus Media Group

[unchecked]

And the classic case of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp. His career and rep was ruined. And it was ruled in court that nearly everything was false.

Actually not everything was false.

The actual abuse part is true. Depp did abuse Heard.

Both Depp and Heard testified in the July 2020 trial, which focused on evaluating 14 alleged incidents of abuse.[30][31] In November 2020, Judge Andrew Nicol ruled in favor of the publisher, finding that the great majority of Depp's alleged assaults had been proven to a civil standard[4][32] and, therefore, the paper's characterization of Depp was "substantially true".[31] The verdict found that Depp had assaulted Heard in 12 of the 14 alleged incidents and put her in fear of her life.

But what Depp won was the defamation. Heard defamed Depp.

On June 1, 2022, after nearly two days of deliberations,[119] the jury found that Depp had proven all the elements of defamation for all three statements from Heard's 2018 op-ed, including that the statements were false, and that Heard defamed Depp with actual malice.[8][9] The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages from Heard.[120][9] The punitive damages, however, were reduced to $350,000 due to a limit imposed by Virginia state law.

 

[Ethosik]

Actually not everything was false.

The actual abuse part is true. Depp did abuse Heard.

Both Depp and Heard testified in the July 2020 trial, which focused on evaluating 14 alleged incidents of abuse.[30][31] In November 2020, Judge Andrew Nicol ruled in favor of the publisher, finding that the great majority of Depp's alleged assaults had been proven to a civil standard[4][32] and, therefore, the paper's characterization of Depp was "substantially true".[31] The verdict found that Depp had assaulted Heard in 12 of the 14 alleged incidents and put her in fear of her life.

But what Depp won was the defamation. Heard defamed Depp.

On June 1, 2022, after nearly two days of deliberations,[119] the jury found that Depp had proven all the elements of defamation for all three statements from Heard's 2018 op-ed, including that the statements were false, and that Heard defamed Depp with actual malice.[8][9] The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages from Heard.[120][9] The punitive damages, however, were reduced to $350,000 due to a limit imposed by Virginia state law.

Not derailing this and getting into semantics as it’s off topic. This is why I stated “NEARLY everything was false”. Depp won everything except one item during the trial. It was clear they abused each other. It wasn’t just one sided.

 

[unchecked]

Not derailing this and getting into semantics as it’s off topic. This is why I stated “NEARLY everything was false”. Depp won everything except one item during the trial. It was clear they abused each other. It wasn’t just one sided.

Yes I was being semantic just to make things clear that Depp did in fact abuse Heard. Not nearly, but actually. And if we have to bring things back here, the allegations may also very well be true, just like how Depp abused Heard.

 

[Basic75]

It's the danger of ever letting too much success get to your head. The moment you do, you've marked a much harder path on the road ahead.

“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

 

[H3boy]

at least this has shut him up about his damn screwdriver. Tired of hearing about it.

 

[ArkSingularity]

“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

That quote says it better than I could have said it myself.

 

[maflynn]

at least this has shut him up about his damn screwdriver. Tired of hearing about it.

Not for nothing, its a good screwdriver

 

[Ethosik]

Yes I was being semantic just to make things clear that Depp did in fact abuse Heard. Not nearly, but actually. And if we have to bring things back here, the allegations may also very well be true, just like how Depp abused Heard.

Again Heard also abused Depp but that didn’t get talked about until the trial.

 

[Ethosik]

at least this has shut him up about his damn screwdriver. Tired of hearing about it.

It’s the best screwdriver I have used.

 

[HiVolt]

I'm personally not one to really base my purchasing decisions off of a single youtube channel anyway. Even the most credible and knowledgable people in the industry will still sometimes be wrong.

Of course, I don't personally base my decisions solely from a single YouTube channel. But as someone who isn't 100% into following the PC tech scene religiously where I would recognize errors in the graphs, depending which video or channel i watch for a specific product I am interested in, a purchase decision could be influenced by their overall recommendation at the end of a video.

Often times I don't pay direct attention to the video itself, I just listen, where you don't even see the on-screen corrections that they caught but did not re-record.

 

[ArkSingularity]

Of course, I don't personally base my decisions solely from a single YouTube channel. But as someone who isn't 100% into following the PC tech scene religiously where I would recognize errors in the graphs, depending which video or channel i watch for a specific product I am interested in, a purchase decision could be influenced by their overall recommendation at the end of a video.

Often times I don't pay direct attention to the video itself, I just listen, where you don't even see the on-screen corrections that they caught but did not re-record.

You're not wrong. Accuracy is important. I just see it as more of a "they should slow down a bit and verify things a little better," not a "lawsuit incoming for reviews that weren't perfect" kind of a situation.

These sorts of things are why you always want to get your information from more than one source. Even the most credible people still make mistakes.

 

[maflynn]

Sorry if I'm repeating some things, but it looks like things are getting worse for LMG
Linus Tech Tips pauses production as controversy swirls

What started as criticism over errors in recent YouTube videos has escalated into allegations of sexual harassment, prompting the company to hire an outside investigator

So earlier in this thread someone posted about ex-employee Madison who made some allegations about her time with LTT on reddit. Looks like this had the effect of pouring gasoline (or petrol for my UK and EU friends ) on the fire

 

[H3boy]

He's always been a piece of work. Even before this fiasco, and a fiasco a few years ago where he destroyed the computer so much there was no repair beyond total replacement available. Popular YouTuber Says Apple Won't Fix His iMac Pro Damaged While Disassembled

 

[AgeOfSpiracles]

He's always been a piece of work. Even before this fiasco, and a fiasco a few years ago where he destroyed the computer so much there was no repair beyond total replacement available. Popular YouTuber Says Apple Won't Fix His iMac Pro Damaged While Disassembled

IIRC it was more so that machine so new that the parts were not yet available, and so Apple said they couldn't fix it. So on one hand, I get his frustration, that sucks. On the other hand, it doesn't warrant the whole song and dance that he did, bringing in rossman, and all that schtick... especially when he (or his staff) was grossly negligent and damaged it themselves in such a way that voided the warranty within 48 hours of purchasing the damned thing.

The guy just can't stand it when he's not treated as the main character, and when that happens he tries to find a way to make it about him again. And you're right, the iMac Pro debacle is a perfect encapsulation of that.

 

[Ethosik]

Sorry if I'm repeating some things, but it looks like things are getting worse for LMG
Linus Tech Tips pauses production as controversy swirls


So earlier in this thread someone posted about ex-employee Madison who made some allegations about her time with LTT on reddit. Looks like this had the effect of pouring gasoline (or petrol for my UK and EU friends ) on the fire

Yep. This is the best way to handle it. Whether it’s true or false, this is the best way to handle this.

 

[ArkSingularity]

IIRC it was more so that machine so new that the parts were not yet available, and so Apple said they couldn't fix it. So on one hand, I get his frustration, that sucks. On the other hand, it doesn't warrant the whole song and dance that he did, bringing in rossman, and all that schtick... especially when he (or his staff) was grossly negligent and damaged it themselves in such a way that voided the warranty within 48 hours of purchasing the damned thing.

This is one of the things where I disagree with him. He also tested his sponsors with a "secret shopping" sort of a thing with their customer service where they intentionally broke their sponsor's devices and called for refunds on them and so forth.

I get that they were trying to test their reactions to a customer who might have had an issue. I really do (and I would absolutely want to know if a company was going to be devious and try to get around providing refunds if they messed something up). I can respect that, but the flip side of it is also that many of these companies may have been aware that something was fishy when devices were messed up in the ways that were described and all the packaging was lost.

If I were a customer service agent on the other side of the phone, the thought would cross my mind too. I actually used to do customer service for a call center in the auto industry and would follow up with hundreds of customers daily. I generally found that the vast majority of customer complaints were genuine, but I also developed a sixth sense for telling when something was fishy after a while. You ALWAYS want to give the customer the benefit of the doubt (be on their side, not against it), but you can often tell when someone is trying to scam a company.

As someone who has done customer service in this manner and who has handled countless complaints like this, the person on the other end of the phone can usually tell if you've intentionally broken something or are lying to try to get a refund. Most of these callers aren't as good at fooling the representatives as they think.

 

[maflynn]

Yep. This is the best way to handle it. Whether it’s true or false, this is the best way to handle this.

No question, but its one of those when it rains it pours. I'm taking no sides in that specific drama, so it will play out probably behind the scenes. Either way I hope Madison is in a better place at this point

 

[0339327]

I am not involved in the gammer community and only watch LTT to learn more about comparative computing. I am however, unsurprised that they are being accused of misleading data as their production rate does not permit in-depth reviews.

I was totally astonished, however, by their video response. For one, having every team lead come and "admit their crimes" is disloyal to the hard-working employees who are following the boss's wishes. It reminded me of dictators who force their ministers to "apologize" for the "crimes" against the "people", usually followed by execution.

Linus should've been the first and only person to accept the blame as he is the face and owner of LMG and the one who pushed for unrealistic revenue goals. Instead, he is the last to speak and then gives a bunch of meaningless excuses.

Hey! You messed up. OWN IT. Don't apologize for anyone else and don't talk about the stresses of satisfying advertisers. Maybe, a YT channel with only 15M subs shouldn't have a production team of 120 personnel which commits them to an insane schedule just to meet the monetary demands. How about having a team half the size that actually produces quality and reliable content with 1 - 2 videos per week instead of 1 - 2 videos per day?

It's no surprise they're running into issues. The new CEO doesn't seem to have the faintest idea about how to properly execute crisis management.

LMG seems to be in stage four of the five stages of decline.* They can come back, but it will take serious leadership, tough decision making, and likely some restructuring to get them back to what made them great in the first place.

1. Hubris born of success: They got big and greedy and thought they would do no wrong.

2. Undisciplined pursuit of more: They hired and hired and started making videos for the advertisers and deal makers, instead of making videos for their viewers and community members.

3. Denial of risk and peril: They kept going, doubling down on mistake after mistake and then criticizing anyone who called them out on it. They had countless opportunities to make small corrections before they landed in their current predicament.

4. Grasping for salvation: This is where I see them now. Grasping, with a stupid apology video that passes the blame around the room without placing the blame where it solely belongs: Mr. Linus Sebastian himself.

5. If they don't get their act together... fast, they will end up in Stage Five: Capitulation to irrelevance or death, from which one cannot return.

Smart people know that to correct problems, one starts by looking in the mirror; not the window.

*How The Mighty Fall, by Jim Collins

 

[ArkSingularity]

Linus should've been the first and only person to accept the blame as he is the face and owner of LMG and the one who pushed for unrealistic revenue goals. Instead, he is the last to speak and then gives a bunch of meaningless excuses.

Hey! You messed up. OWN IT. Don't apologize for anyone else and don't talk about the stresses of satisfying advertisers. Maybe, a YT channel with only 15M subs shouldn't have a production team of 120 personnel which commits them to an insane schedule just to meet the monetary demands. How about having a team half the size that actually produces quality and reliable content with 1 - 2 videos per week instead of 1 - 2 videos per day?

Agreed. Linus' response sadly is what has made this tumble into a downhill mess much more than it otherwise would have (and then the allegations on Twitter that came afterwards are another issue entirely, and have made things much worse).

LTT could still bounce back from this, but Linus is going to have to learn to hold his tongue better than he's normally accustomed to doing. Having the reputation of throwing blame around is not going to help his cause at this point. His ability to respond properly to this is going to make or break the future of his company.

It all looks like it stems from a massive culture issue right now (and is probably indicative of things that have gone on for years). I still wish them the best, I'm going to wait for the investigation results before I have stronger opinions on some of these things. Right now, all I can say is... what a dumpster disaster (and frankly, I do hope the investigation is done fairly. Anything that needs to be taken care of should be addressed and not swept under the rug).

 

[Romain_H]

Linus should've been the first and only person to accept the blame as he is the face and owner of LMG and the one who pushed for unrealistic revenue goals. Instead, he is the last to speak and then gives a bunch of meaningless excuses.

Agreed. Let's not forget: He's a youtuber lucky enough so his videos took off. The business started small and grew pretty fast - maybe too fast.
I'm guessing he never got educated in leadership. He's rather young (naturally, therefore, lacking experience. Overconfident. Perhaps missing the integrity that comes with age/experience). He never got training on the job within a larger organization or had time to grow (personally). Again: just guessing. But that'd explain something.

 

[maflynn]

No question, but its one of those when it rains it pours. I'm taking no sides in that specific drama, so it will play out probably behind the scenes. Either way I hope Madison is in a better place at this point

Looks like LTT ex-employee who left on good terms posted this in twitter - grabbed this from a video feed from a YT

 

[Ethosik]

No question, but its one of those when it rains it pours. I'm taking no sides in that specific drama, so it will play out probably behind the scenes. Either way I hope Madison is in a better place at this point

Yeah. And I can certainly understand saying things now suddenly. Gamers Nexus opened the door for these conversations. We really do owe him a lot just for making such a platform possible.

 

[Shortpay]

I wonder if this controversy is increasing or decreasing subscribers or views of either camp.

 

[maflynn]

I wonder if this controversy is increasing or decreasing subscribers or views of either camp.

They were at 15.8 million before this blew up, they then shedded 300,000 subscribers and it hasn't changed since that, i.e., 15.5 million

 

[ArkSingularity]

Looks like LTT ex-employee who left on good terms posted this in twitter - grabbed this from a video feed from a YT

View attachment 2247174

Reading down his tweets/replies to tweets (and also reading Madison's replies). I'm still waiting for them to complete the internal investigation, but her experience is starting to sound a lot more credible to me.

The fact that former coworkers (who are very much fans of LTT and who left on good terms) are protecting her speaks volumes in her favor. I still don't think any of us know the full story (or the details involved) yet, but I hope that she is treated fairly in all of this. I have a feeling she is not making this up.