Will the YouTube apologies ever work?

By: Abigail Galvez-Aguirre

After facing weeks of allegations, Youtuber David Dobrik sat on the floor of an empty room with tears in his eyes, pleading with the public for forgiveness for his part in a sexual assault. The public came down with the verdict that Dobrik was canceled until further notice. Dobrik’s situation is one of many apology videos made by Youtubers attempting to prevent not being canceled. 

One of the biggest components in public relations is the ability to manage a crisis. Youtubers again and again fail to learn how to correctly manage their scandal. These 20-minute apology videos are met with ridicule from the public and instantly made into memes. YouTube apology videos don’t work partly due to the relationship YouTubers’ hold with their audience and the PR strategies they employ during crises.

Youtubers hold a transactional relationship with their fans. For months on years, influencers invite thousands to millions of people into every aspect of their personal lives. Their audience watches them build new levels of wealth as they grow in viewership, subscriptions and sponsors, often feeling they are partly to thank. After all, it was their views that got the YouTuber to their new house. This break from traditional celebrity and fan relationships brings thousands to millions of loyal fans, but also their downfall.

Much of the scandals they find themselves in are preventable with proper management. The first strategy used is to ignore, delete and deny any rumors of a scandal. Smaller fanbases get away with this, for many years this strategy worked for Dobrik. As they deny any participation or responsibility for their actions they often look to scapegoats, further angering their audience.

The next strategy they jump to is to diminish the existence of the crisis. Dobrik attempted with his first apology video, with the comments turned off he spent seven minutes attempting to diminish his participation. The YouTube apologies do not work because they claim to use the videos as an attempt to rebuild themselves when in reality all they do is diminish and reframe their scandal. Fans feel disrespected and disappointed that they invested their time and catapulted them to wealth.

Rarely do they turn to a rebuilding strategy, but by then it feels forced, fake and too late. In Dobrik’s second apology video, he finally acknowledged his problematic behavior and took responsibility, but by then every major sponsor had dropped him. Fans felt he only spoke up was due to loss in income. If Youtubers start off with a strategy of rebuilding and responsibility rather than denial, then they stand a chance against benign canceled.

The poor management they use to prevent being cancelled only digs their grave. It’s in this double-edged sword that many Youtubers find themselves cornered in.