MrBeast controversy raises question on credibility of YouTube dislike extension

In the wake of recent controversies surrounding YouTube’s most subscribed creator, MrBeast, a new debate has emerged questioning the reliability of third-party extensions that claim to show dislike counts on YouTube videos. The discussion was sparked by conflicting reports about the number of dislikes on MrBeast’s latest upload, leaving many viewers confused and skeptical.

It all started when DramaAlert, a popular social media news account, posted a screenshot on X (formerly Twitter) suggesting that MrBeast’s newest video had received around 500,000 dislikes. This figure came from a widely-used browser extension that purports to restore the ability to see dislikes on YouTube videos, a feature the platform removed in 2021. However, the plot thickened when DramaAlert quickly backtracked, deleting the original post and issuing an apology. They explained that fellow creators had warned them about the unreliability of the third-party app. In fact, DramaAlert claimed to have gotten in touch with MrBeast himself, who allegedly provided the “real” numbers.

According to this new information, the video in question had received only 4,744 dislikes – a staggering difference from the initial report. To add another layer of complexity, a subsequent update from DramaAlert showed yet another set of figures: 2,304,881 likes and 20,632 dislikes. These wildly varying numbers have left many in the YouTube community scratching their heads. On social media platforms like Reddit, users have been quick to express their doubts about the accuracy of any of these figures.

One Reddit user pointed out the implausibility of such low dislike counts for a creator of MrBeast’s scale, stating, “even in the case where there would have been no drama, a youtuber getting 100 millions of views will easily get minimum 50k+ dislikes which would be people not liking the content. 5k dislikes is just straight up lie lmao.”

Adding fuel to the fire, another user who goes by the handle “rushia01” shared some interesting information. They cited a statement from the developer of the popular Return YouTube Dislike extension, which claimed that their data showed at least 87,000 dislikes from users who have the extension installed. This figure, while significantly lower than the initial 500,000 report, is still far higher than the numbers allegedly provided by MrBeast’s team. The latest information from the developer claims that the video has 145,317 dislikes and 75,865 likes.

But the controversy seems to have taken yet another turn in as I write this. Multiple Reddit users have reported that the Return YouTube Dislike extension appears to have stopped functioning entirely. Users are seeing “Temporarily Disabled” in place of dislike counts across various videos on the platform. This development has led to widespread speculation within the community. Some users are questioning whether YouTube has taken steps to block the extension completely. Others are drawing connections between this sudden change and the ongoing MrBeast controversy, with one user commenting, “100% has something to do with MrBeets [Mr. Beast].”

The timing of these issues has raised eyebrows, with another Reddit user noting, “I have a feeling it’s part of the Mr Beast drama. Until the Kris Tyson incident, MrBeast was always getting really good like-to-dislike ratios, and the creators of one of the extensions actively spoke out against Mr Beast’s claim that he got like 4000 dislikes.” These new developments have added another layer of complexity to an already convoluted situation. The apparent disabling of the dislike extension has not only intensified the debate about the accuracy of these third-party tools but has also fueled conspiracy theories about potential attempts to suppress criticism.

Some users are calling for the extension’s developer to address the situation and potentially find a workaround. Others are drawing parallels to YouTube’s recent crackdown on ad-blocking extensions, suggesting this could be part of a broader effort by the platform to limit third-party interventions.

Whether this is a temporary glitch, a targeted action, or part of a larger shift in YouTube’s policies remains to be seen. What’s clear is that the debate over YouTube dislikes – and how to accurately measure them – is far from over. As one Reddit user aptly put it, “I wouldn’t be surprised if this was targeted to silence criticism. And hopefully, the dev of the extension is able to find a workaround.”

It remains to be seen if YouTube will go out of its way to address the situation. Interestingly, I found reports from last year mentioning that this third-party extension, in some cases, does indeed have “wildly inaccurate” numbers. So it’s not beyond the realm of impossibility that this is one of the situations where the extension has royally messed up. Either way, it seems we’ll have to wait for more clarity from YouTube or MrBeast directly.