Wikipedia:WikiProject YouTube/Notability

This is an essay on notability. It contains the advice and/or opinions of one or more WikiProjects on how notability may be interpreted within their area of interest.

This information is not a formal Wikipedia policy or guideline, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community.

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YouTubers are Internet celebrities whose fame has come about through their publishing of their own videos on YouTube that they feature in.

Articles about YouTubers are regularly nominated for deletion, and the outcome is generally 'delete'. A frequent argument put forward for keeping the article is that a subject is notable because of their number of YouTube subscribers or the number of times their videos have been viewed. Consensus however is that this is an insufficient basis by which to establish notability.

A List of YouTubers features individuals who have articles about them—some have been nominated for deletion but kept, and others have not been nominated.

Meeting WP:GNG and/or WP:ENT

WP:N says that "A topic is presumed to merit an article if ... it meets either the general notability guideline below, or the criteria outlined in a subject-specific guideline" one of which is WP:ENT. However, in practice, some editors involved in deletion debates consider that a YouTuber needs to meet *both* WP:GNG *and* WP:ENT. Some editors do not consider meeting both guidelines to be a requirement, as evidenced by the discussion in Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/SSSniperwolf (2nd nomination) which focused on WP:BASIC and WP:GNG.

In Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Etika, letcreate123 argues that "WP:ENT does not override the former [WP:GNG] as it is under the "Additional criteria" section of the Notability policy. Meeting it only makes it more likely to be notable, but it does not guarantee it and the reverse also holds true; not meeting the additional criteria does not mean the subject in question is not notable."

Subscriber count published in secondary source

The subscriber count on the subject's YouTube channel is considered a primary source and is also subject to change (there's nothing to guarantee that the x million subscribers might not all suddenly unsubscribe, even though that may seem far-fetched). So editors like to see the subscriber count mentioned by a secondary source, which comes with the advantage of being a point-in-time record of that count.

Reliable sources

Reliable sources essay WP:NOYT - this is about the content of videos that have been uploaded to YouTube, and doesn't have anything to say about subscriber or view counts.
Reliable sources noticeboard discussion archive 52: Can YouTube be used as a primary source
Talk:Natalie Tran#Vidstatsx sourced content
Talk:Dave Days#Top 50 subscribed

AfD discussions

The following table shows the outcome of a selection of AfD discussions about YouTubers. The list is not meant to be comprehensive. Please add to it.

AfD discussions about YouTubers
Article	Year	Subscribers	Result	Notes
Abbeynainsley	2007		Delete
Kevjumba	2007	40,000	Delete	Page eventually recreated: KevJumba
Ryan Higa	2008	473,730	Delete	Page eventually recreated: Ryan Higa
Phillip DeFranco	2008	290,000	no consensus
Shay Carl	2009	70,000	Delete	Page recreated: Shay Carl
Michelle Phan	2010		Keep
Kip Kay	2011	1,000,000	Keep
Tom Cassell (2nd nomination)	2013	5,000,000	Keep
Tessa Violet	2013	1,000,000	Keep
Comic Book Cast	2014	6,700	Delete
Boogie2988	2014	1,750,000	Delete	Page eventually recreated: Boogie2988
Ryan Dizon	2014	2,000	Speedy delete
List of the most subscribed users on YouTube	2015		Keep
Seven Super Girl	2015	2,000,000	Delete
RackaRacka	2015	1,800,000	No consensus
Secular Talk Radio - The Kyle Kulinski Show	2015	188,000	Delete
Deji Olatunji	2015	5,000,000	Delete
Lewis Hilsenteger	2015	2,000,000	Delete	Now redirects to Unbox Therapy
SuperMarioGlitchy4	2015	?	Delete	A planned Draft:Luke Lerdwichagul was also deleted.
DanTDM	2016	9,000,000	Keep
Daniel Keem	2016	50,000	Delete	Now exists at Keemstar
Linus Sebastian	2016	2,700,000	Keep	"The number of subscribers does have bearing on notability according to the second point of WP:ENT"
AustinFFA	2016		Delete
Elie haoui	2017	59	Speedy delete	WP:A7 as there were no credible references in the article
TheFatRat	2017	1,400,000	Delete	"Arguments citing that someone is notable for merely being signed to a major label (and/or that they've released a single album via that signing) does not accurately reflect our notability guidelines. Issues surrounding the guideline itself and improvements thereto should be addressed at the guideline's talk page." Now recreated: TheFatRat
Dennis Roady	2017	3,500,000	Keep	While number of subscribers does not determine notability, the independent coverage on the subject is enough to pass GNG. Covered in multiple news articles
BigDawsTv	2017	2,487,551	Delete	"The sources, even when in otherwise reliable publications, do not cover the subject in sufficient depth. Statistics such as number of views do not carry any weight in these discussions."
Sidemen	2017	2,050,372	Delete	"Demonstrating notability requires multiple sources. Arguments about WP:ENT are hollow as the person still must meet WP:GNG, and all claims must be verifiable" Recreated in 2018
Chris Dixon	2017	3,152,349	Delete	Not enough dedicated sources to satisfy GNG. Numbers of subscribers aren't substitutes. Now exists at [[ChrisMD]
Stuart Edge	2017	2,511,310	Keep	WP:GNG met
List of YouTubers (2nd nomination)	2017		Keep	Per WP:SNOW
Doug DeMuro	2017	2,429,219	Delete	Now exists at Doug DeMuro
BradTheLadLong	2017	2,568	Delete
BradTheLadLong (2nd nomination)	2017	2,568	Speedy delete
BB Ki vines	2017	3,300,000	No consensus	India's most-subscribed YouTuber. Now exists at Bhuvan Bam
Carl Ivan Villafuerte Calayag	2017	45,000	Delete
Ethan Schulteis	2017	280	Delete
Tony Tarz	2017	1,147	Delete
Candice Hutchings	2017	227,483	Keep	Borderline notablity
Life of Boris	2017	800,000	Delete
Paul Ray Ramsey	2017	42,519	no consensus
MrBossFTW	2017	1,836,400	Delete	Failed WP:GNG - references were only passing mentions rather than being about the YouTuber.
Liza Koshy (actress)	2017	11,000,000	Keep
David Brown (internet musician)	2018	2,100,000	No consensus	Relisted twice, with a keep/redirect split. The discussion brought up four independent reliable secondary sources with nontrivial coverage.
Jaiden Animations	2018	4,400,000	Delete	Later recreated at Jaiden Animations.
TheOdd1sOut	2018	8,200,000	Keep	Original discussion was closed as delete 11 September 2018. 19 January 2019 there was consensus to keep.
Etika	2019	<1,000,000	Keep	Per WP:SNOW. WP:GNG was clearly met.
B is for Build	2019	1,160,000	Delete
Sssniperwolf	2019	17,400,000	Keep	Article had been in bad shape when it was nominated. A participant in the AfD found a number of additional sources that satisfied WP:GNG. However subsequently deleted in this discussion
Color Man	2019	1,400,000	Delete
Mumbiker Nikhil	2020	2,940,000	Delete
King Cid	2020	1,010,000	Delete	Sources were either unreliable or not independent
Zhong	2020	257,000	Delete	Sources were either primary, PR releases, or fake news/spam/blackhat SEO sites
Kyle Kulinkski	2020	786,000	Delete	Protected 4th AFD Note: the show was separately deleted (above) in 2015
Lizbeth Rodríguez	2020	8,610,000	Keep	A participant in the AfD found lots of of sources in Spanish that were not used in the article therefore satisfying WP:GNG.
LDShadowLady	2020	4,800,000	no consensus	3 new sources found, even split of Keep/delete votes
Yvick Letexier	2020	5,460,000	Keep	A participant in the AfD found sources in French which were not used in the article, therefore satisfying WP:GNG.
Cupcake Aisyah	2020	381,000	Delete
Mumbo Jumbo	2020	5,080,000	Delete	Lack of significant coverage in independent, reliable sources.
Luigikid Gaming	2020	512,000	Delete	Fails WP:GNG, the German Wikipedia article on him was recently deleted for the same notability issues.
Barış Özcan	2020	4,080,000	Delete	Lack of significant coverage in multiple sources that would demonstrate notability. Was questioned whether an analysis of Turkish language sources would find appropriate sources.
Nutticha Namwong	2020	12,500,000	Keep	Participants of the AfD found Thai news coverage which established notability per WP:GNG.
TheWineKone	2020	118,000	Delete
Nikita Dragun	2020	2,670,000	Keep	Several sources found, clearly meets WP:GNG
The Hungry Syrian Wanderer (2nd nomination)	2020	2,100,000	Keep	Several sources found, passes WP:GNG
Ralph Smart (YouTuber)	2020	1,720,000	Delete	Not enough media/significant coverage to satisfy WP:GNG
Paul Barbato (2nd nomination)	2020	2,100,000	Delete	Sources are passing mentions or primary sources, doesn't satisfy WP:GNG. Since redirected to Geography Now#Team
Denis (YouTuber)	2020	8,200,000	Delete	Sources are passing mentions or primary sources, doesn't satisfy WP:GNG/WP:BIO. It was noted that though the subject is popular they serve a younger demographic and so sourcing is problematic. Now exists at Denis and Me
Larray	2020	4,560,000	Delete	No coverage in reliable sources.
Hachem Gaddouch	2020	209,000	Delete	No coverage in independent secondary sources in either English or Arabic.
Camila Guiribitey	2020	1,760,000	No Consensus	Quality of arguments on both sides was poor. However subsequently deleted in second nomination
Maansals	2020	105,000	Delete
Saif Ben Ammar	2020	507,000	Delete	Subject fails WP:GNG, sources are not reliable.
Matt Carriker (2nd nomination)	2020	8,300,000	Delete	Sources largely unreliable or small time, local papers.
SSSniperwolf (2nd nomination)	2020	19,600,000	Delete	Even with large subscriber numbers, subject does not have enough coverage in reliable and independent sources.
Mubashir Siddique	2020	2,200,000	Speedy Keep	Many sources found, passes WP:GNG, nomination withdrawn.
Camila Guiribitey (2nd nomination)	2020	1,760,000	Delete	Article creator is a sock, nominator is a sock, previous AFD was hijacked by socks. No sources showing she passes WP:GNG.
GrayStillPlays	2020	3,260,000	Delete	Non-notable, only trivial coverage in sources.
Kwon Do-jin	2020	841,000	Delete
RoomieOfficial	2020	6,000,000	Keep	Passes WP:MUSICBIO and several additional sources found, passes WP:GNG.
Shannon Strucci	2020	34,900	Delete	Fails WP:GNG and WP:BIO.
Juliette Reilly (2nd nomination)	2020	175,000	Keep	Passes WP:NMUSIC.
Rajesh Kumar (youtuber)	2020	13,400,000	Delete	Fails WP:GNG. (YT channel named FactTechz).
Enes Batur	2020	12,900,000	Keep	Non-notable, article mostly a WP:COATRACK.
Harry Metcalfe (2nd nomination)	2020	347,000	Delete
Party In Backyard (2nd nomination)	2020	356,000	Keep	Passes WP:NMUSIC.
TierZoo	2020	1,960,000	Delete	Lacks significant coverage in multiple sources.
EthanGamer	2020	2,630,000	Delete	Only passing mentions in reliable sources, need better sourcing to have an article on a minor.
Trey Kennedy	2020	668,000	Keep	Passes WP:GNG.
Louis Rossmann	2020	1,180,000	Keep
MaximilianMus	2020	1,370,000	Delete	Not enough reliable sources in significant detail.
The Infographics Show	2020	8,320,000	Keep	Passes WP:GNG.
Abroad in Japan	2020	1,650,000	Keep	Passes WP:GNG.
Vlad and Nikita	2020	42,400,000	Keep	Passes WP:ENT and arguably passes WP:GNG.
Sammy Paul	2020	135,000	Delete	Fails WP:ANYBIO and WP:SIGCOV.
SiIvaGunner	2020	379,000	Keep	Per WP:ENT 'appears to pass' WP:GNG.
Greg Guevara	2020	241,000	Delete	Does not pass WP:GNG.
Scherezade Shroff Talwar	2020	312,000	Delete	Does not pass WP:GNG.
Chief Pat	2020	2,510,000	Delete	Does not pass WP:GNG.
Amarna Miller	2020	368,000	Keep	Passes WP:GNG with multiple reliable sources in Spanish.
Christian Guzman (2nd nomination)	2020	991,000	Delete
Shakir Subhan	2020	884,000	Delete	Fulfills WP:BLP1E/ does not pass WP:GNG.
CallMeCarson	2020	2,930,000	Delete	Sources don't satisfy WP:GNG.
Jim Browning (YouTuber)	2020	1,570,000	Keep	Enough sources to satisfy WP:GNG.
Camila Loures	2020	12,000,000	Delete	Sources don't satisfy WP:GNG, mostly trivial coverage.
Gaurav Taneja	2020	3,230,000	Delete	Sources don't meet WP:GNG or WP:BIO, also fails WP:BIO1E.
Amit Bhadana	2020	20,800,000	Keep	Coverage found in Indian/Pakistan newspapers.
Dhruv Rathee	2020	3,970,000	Delete	Doesn't pass WP:GNG, or WP:BLP1E.
Steve Cash (YouTuber)	2020	2,590,000	Delete
Jeremy Jahns (YouTuber)	2020	1,720,000	Delete
LeafyIsHere	2020	4,760,000	No Consensus	Available sources discussed, no consensus was formed.
Ashish Chanchlani	2020	19,200,000	Delete	Has a large subscriber count, but all mentions are trivial.
Kingsley (YouTuber)	2020	2,820,000	Delete	Sources are either unreliable or not in depth.
Yair Dabush	2020	42,800	Delete	References are unreliable, not currently notable.
Mochizuki Himari (2nd nomination)	2020	107,000	Delete
Ritu Rathee Taneja	2020	3,470,000	Delete	Channel name: Flying Beast, lack of reliable independent sources.
Yutabon	2020	124,000	Delete
Simply Nailogical	2020	7,660,000	Keep	Meets WP:GNG.
Mayuri Pandey	2020	244,000	Delete	Fails WP:GNG
Eric Rosen (chess player)	2020	114,000	Delete	Fails WP:GNG
Sam Denby	2020	2,670,000	Keep	Passes WP:GNG. (Wendover Productions)
Hugo Dessioux	2020	2,280,000	Delete	Fails WP:GNG
ApexTV	2020	1,280,000	Delete	No significant coverage.
Kiran Dutta (2nd nomination)	2020	2,930,000	Delete	Deleted as G4 (The Bong Guy).
J.J. McCullough (3rd nomination)	2020	214,000	Delete	Not sourced to reliable sources which are independent of the subject.
CinemaSins (2nd nomination)	2020	8,990,000	Keep
Steve Wallis	2020	378,000	No Consensus	Discussion has received adequate, guideline-based input to counter its relisting.
Dream (YouTuber)	2020	12,300,000	Delete	Didn't satisfy WP:GNG. However, article kept in a second discussion
Brian Hull (Impressionist)	2020	2,280,000	Delete	Does not meet WP:GNG.
Giorgi Danelia	2020	148,000	Delete	No evidence of notability.
Corey James La Barrie	2020	392,000	Delete	WP:ONEEVENT
Hodgetwins (2nd nomination)	2020	2,270,000	Keep
Kara and Nate	2020	1,920,000	Delete	WP:TOOSOON/ fails WP:GNG
Kmac2021	2020	886,000	Delete	Fails WP:MUSICBIO + WP:GNG
Rob Paul	2020	16,900	Delete	Fails WP:GNG
Shane Wighton	2020	1,850,000	Keep	meets WP:SIGCOV
Tom Rowsell	2020	111,000	Delete	Below WP:GNG threshold
Zachary Neil Tarnopol	2020	4,650,000	Delete	Not enough reliably sourced evidence of notability
Draft:Justine Tung	2020	1,550	Delete	Not enough reliably sourced evidence of notability, author requested its deletion
Mike Majlak	2020	2,200,000	Delete	fails WP:BIO
Joseph Pisenti	2021	3,950,000	Delete	WP:TOOSOON/ fails WP:GNG. (RealLifeLore).
Nah Cardoso	2021	3,220,000	Delete	Not notable, article seems WP:PROMOTIONAL.
Dream (YouTuber) (2nd nomination)	2021	15,800,000	No Consensus	Arguments for both sides, some sourcing found, some WP:CANVASSING and derailing arguments, further discussions should be based on policy.
CallMeCarson (2nd nomination)	2021	3,050,000	Keep	Subject doesn't fit WP:BLP1E. Later deleted in 3rd nomination.
Daniel Hardcastle (2nd nomination)	2021	2,510,000	Keep	meets WP:ANYBIO. (OfficialNerdCubed).
Danny Duncan	2021	5,380,000	Delete	No WP:RS found.
Montoya Twinz	2021	642,000	Delete	Only local and YouTube coverage found.
Kosar Pourreza	2021	1,090	Delete	Per WP:GNG failure.
Ruhez Amrelia	2021	2,900,000	Delete	No significant coverage found.
Max Fosh	2021	400,000	Delete	Consensus was that he did not meet WP:NPOL, WP:ENT or WP:GNG at the time.
Vaush	2021	347,000	Delete	WP:GNG not established. Page eventually recreated via AfC: Vaush
GeorgeNotFound	2021	6,550,000	Delete	Eventually recreated: GeorgeNotFound
Drew Binsky	2021	2,560,000	Keep	There is significant coverage in reliable sources.
CallMeCarson (3rd nomination)	2021	2,940,000	Delete
Max Fosh (2nd nomination)	2022	1,090,000	Delete	Eventually recreated: Max Fosh
Brett Cooper (commentator)	2023	2,990,000	No Consensus
Lofe	2023	1,520,000	Delete	Fails WP:GNG.
Random Encounters	2023	4,260,000	Delete
CaseOh	2024	2,340,000	Delete	Fails WP:N
Lord Vinheteiro	2024	7,200,000	No Consensus

Keep / delete tally

Based on the table above, the percentage of articles kept (including where there was no consensus) as of 3 July 2023^[update] are as follows:

Subscriber count	% kept
< 100k	7%
100k-1m	22%
1m-2m	36%
2m-5m	39%
5m-10m	56%
10m+	50%

Principles

Per WP:BASIC, the starting point is significant coverage in multiple, reliable, secondary sources.
If coverage in a given secondary source is more than trivial, but less than substantial, multiple such sources can be combined.
Primary sources don't count towards notability (though they can be used to support specific content in the article)
The subscriber count on a YouTube channel is a primary source
The subscriber count must have been included in something that has been independently written about in a reliable secondary source
The 'additional criteria' for notable people are helpful, but do not guarantee notability
Subscriber count helps meet the second criteria of WP:ENT.
If a YouTuber doesn't have a lot of subscribers, and cites no reliable independent sources, that's grounds for deletion.
Few articles about YouTubers have been kept unless they have upwards of one million subscribers
Subscription counts do not make one notable. Nor does wealth, revenue, and other size metrics. This is however a benchmark that can be useful in assessing subject matter—a YouTuber with millions of subscribers is more likely to be notable than one with tens of thousands

Seeking consensus

If consensus on this essay is established then WP:PEOPLEOUTCOMES could be updated to reflect the common outcomes for AfD discussions around YouTube celebrities, or Internet celebrities in general. Please discuss on the talk page.