The Daily Stupid: YouTube, Jim Acosta, Attack on Titan, and Twitch
Welcome to The Daily Stupid, where we cover some of the dumbest and most idiotic things happening around the world and on the internet.
In this special edition, each one of our Bounding Into Comics writers picked one respective item for The Daily Stupid. Not only that, but as we do every Tuesday, we held a special livestream on it, where we each shared our picks live! You can check out the replay below.
With that, buckle up, and let’s get into it.
1. Donald Edmonds: YouTube
In a surprise move by YouTube today, they announced on Twitter what they called a small ‘experiment’. A new layout for their platform, the most distinguishing new feature of which is the ability to hide the dislike count for videos.
“In response to creator feedback around well-being and targeted dislike campaigns, we’re testing a few new designs that don’t show the public dislike count. If you’re part of this small experiment, you might spot one of these design in the coming weeks (example below!)
They state in a reply tweet, “Creators, you’ll still be able to see the exact number of likes and dislikes in YouTube Studio. For viewers, if you’re in the experiment, you can still like or dislike a video to share feedback with creators and help tune the recommendations you see on YouTube.”
Which immediately brought up a number of arguments against the move by YouTube. The ratio on the tweet itself seems to reflect that. Several creators using the platform had something to say about YouTube’s experiment.
@Nerdrotics put it simply, writing, “No one wants this. Dislikes are helpful for a great many things and this is what puts YouTube above all others. By all means keep making decisions without asking a broad cross section of creators. How about making it our choice if you care so much for our well being.”
“How will viewers quickly be able to know the general rating of the video and whether or not they should invest time into watching something,” asked @RSTYCG regarding the decision. “Time is valuable. Bad decision. Dislike.”
To which the official @TeamYouTube account replied, “1/2) Viewer feedback is an important part of YouTube, but we’ve heard from creators that the current experience can negatively impact their wellbeing. We also know that public dislike counts sometimes motivate targeted campaigns of dislikes on some videos.”
“2/2) We’re changing the look and feel of the buttons,” YouTube continued. “But we’ll continue to tun recommendations based on likes and dislikes. Hope this helps clarify.”
@RSTYCG replied in turn, “Well, You’ve also heard from creators that the current experience is beneficial. Personally, it has a positive impact on my wellbeing. Which voices are the ones that matter in this decision making process?”
Prompting one last response from @TeamYouTube, who concluded, “Thanks for the response – we’ll be keeping a close eye on the feedback from these experiments to determine what decisions we may want to make in the future. Tweet back @ us if needed.”
There was already a feature in place for content creators to hide both like/dislike ratio from public view as well as comments. Also people were documenting instances where dislikes were getting removed from posts. And as RKOutpost on YouTube pointed out, the move is solely to protect larger accounts from criticism of their content, and give them the green light to continue with their current, massively disliked strategy.
For that YouTube, you get an entry into the Daily Stupid.
2. Spencer Baculi: Jim Acosta Loves Jim Acosta
Regardless of political affiliation, I’m pretty sure most people can agree that CNN reporter Jim Acosta is hands down one of the most annoying reporters currently employed at any outlet.
On March 29th, Acosta shared a photo of himself receiving his COVID-19 vaccination to Twitter, writing, “Just the shot in the arm I needed. The latest studies show the Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective. Please do your part to end this pandemic. Get your shot!”
In the photo, Acosta can be seen wearing a self-glorying T-shirt whose text listed his journalist ‘accomplishments’ in 2020.
“In 2020, I covered the impeachment trial & caucus night (that lasted a week) & the primaries & the covid pandemic & the economic crash & the racial justice protests & Lafayette Square & so many rallies & the death of RBG & the president’s 1AM coronavirus diagnosis & a Supreme Court confirmation & an election night (that lasted a week) & firings by tweet & the recounts & the presidential transition & I have the commemorative shirt to prove it,” the shirt reads.
Where do I even begin with this shirt? It’s a well known fact that ‘no one loves Jim Acosta more than Jim Acosta’, but this shirt takes self-love to a whole new level. It exists to do nothing more than frame Acosta as some sort of valiant, front line hero in a tireless war, when in reality, he was a highly-paid reporter working for one of the biggest news outlets in the world.
Get over yourself, Acosta. I know you won’t, but until you do, I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of you on The Daily Stupid.
2. Spencer Baculi: Attack On Titan Critics Shocked To Discover Women Have Breasts
Every other day with the outrage against 2D drawings that cannot hurt anyone.
On March 29th, Attack on Titan aired its final episode of its fourth season, “Above and Below”. Adapting the manga chapter of the same name, the episode features a scene wherein a number of Eren’s prisoners, including Mikasa Ackerman, look on as Greiz taunts Nicolo for his love of Sasha Braus.
In the manga, Mikasa is only seen in the corner of one panel, sitting at a table across from Armin.
But in the anime, Mikasa is instead seen from the upper body up, sitting at a table during the fight.
Bafflingly, but as I always say, unsurprisingly, this extended shot of Mikasa soon prompted accusations of sexualization towards the anime’s production studio, Studio MAPPA.
Here’s the thing: women have breasts. Shocking, I know. Showing that fact is not inherently sexual. I mean, she is literally just sitting there, wearing a long-sleeve shirt with only the topmost button undone. If you think that’s sexualized, well, that’s really on you.
I really, really just can’t get over how stupid this accusation is.
4. Spencer Baculi and Donald Edmonds: Twitch
While we were absent a few team members today, both Don and myself (Spencer) spontaneously covered a rather titillating Twitch controversy on The Daily Stupid Live Stream.
If you want to hear more, you’ll have to check out the replay above! Hopefully, you’ll find it just as stupid as we did.
This has been your Daily Stupid. If you have suggestions for tomorrow, leave a comment or hit us up on social media.
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