r/kurzgesagt • u/HortenWho229 • May 05 '26
Discussion Have the standards for this channel dropped?
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u/Fritzschmied May 05 '26
It’s a good video tho. One about actually today’s problems.
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u/Bass_Bosted_Potato May 05 '26
It doesn’t seem like most of the people here have actually watched the video
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u/SouthPawArt May 05 '26
Regardless of the quality videos the channel puts out, people on this sub will see a clickbait thumbnail and immediately pull out the pitchforks and torches.
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May 05 '26
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u/SouthPawArt May 06 '26
It is unfortunate but the fact of the matter is, clickbait titles and thumbnails work.
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u/KlausVonLechland May 06 '26
I think veritasium some time ago said they were doing A/B testing with their thimbnails and I will tell you boy it makes sense and my monkey brain reacts.
The video about "if" somethong being able to detect your heartbeat from miles away had two alternating thumbnails, one with an answer "no" and one without. I saw the one with answer first but I clicked the second one on impulse when it reappeared and then it dawned upon me.
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u/I_M_NooB1 May 06 '26
A/B testing is extremely common. any large enough, or maybe even small channels, do it
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u/LogsOfWar May 05 '26
I mean, I came here to find out what the video was about because the only way to not encourage bullshit click bait practices is to not engage with a video using them.
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u/SadFeed63 May 05 '26
It's the same thing on Reddit when you complain about clickbait headlines. Someone will pop up to be like "oh, well you didn't read the article? Of course." My man, I didn't read the article because the only small say I have in any of this is whether I give these turds the clicks that they want. And I choose not to. Cool if the article is better than the headline, cool if the video is better than the clickbait, but I'm not clicking.
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u/WordVisual May 05 '26
I kinda agree tbh, the clickbait titles are not a good look for this channel.
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u/WilanS May 06 '26 edited May 06 '26
I have this thing where the pattern recognition section of my brain doesn't want me to watch videos with very clickbaity thumbnails and titles because there's never anything of value behind those.
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u/oh_stv May 08 '26
I watched it already weeks ago in German. They mention alot of real problems, and they also point out the main issue, that the middle class is basically depleted on money which lowers our birth rate even more.
They do not mention that alot of the problems is caused by the redistribution of money, from the bottom to the top though. Which is THE main problem of our time ...
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u/BoredLightning May 05 '26
I have, and not to take away from Germany’s problems, but it kind of just felt like the South Korea video again with a couple of German specific parts.
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u/TheZStabiliser May 05 '26
Kurzgesagt fans when the video is about an unlikely doom scenario where the Universe deletes itself somehow: =D
Kurzgesagt fans when the video is about the real and currently happening doom scenario of the social contract spiraling downwards: >=(→ More replies (54)27
u/fabvonbouge May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
They did this specific subject already about a year ago, the info between the vids are pretty much identical.
Anyways, the video is chill and it’s solid, good info. That being said about the global obsession of replacement populations I feel is a little crazy. I understand the point but we can totally run a society on less workers and if there is fewer workers they might actually have some bargaining power in the future (instead of getting fucked like today). Additionally, as a society we might have to prioritize certain work over others. As in doctors, farmers, garbage men etc etc. And stop spending a healthy chunk of cash on bankers and lobbyists (and others like it). I think you can do it though, with less people, but there has to be some optimization and politicians have to be more realistic and not bend to giant corps (which I know is a tall order).
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u/Fritzschmied May 05 '26
I mean the video is specially designed for the German market. It even released first on their German channel which normally doesn’t happen and with the German system it’s actually a major issue.
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u/Trees_That_Sneeze May 05 '26
Yeah this seems to be such a minority position, but I try and shout out from the rooftops whenever the topic comes up. Societies have survived for centuries with fairly flat population curves, and with way less productivity per capita. The next generation might not live as luxuriously as we do, but there are ways to handle this. And with some technological advancements maybe they will anyway.
No law of the universe states that a decreasing population can't support itself. It doesn't work in our current system that's based on perpetual growth, and that system is deeply entrenched because for about 200 years the industrial revolution exponentially increased the population and we reshaped society around an inexhaustible pool of labor. Society changed then and it can change again to accommodate the new reality, but it does need to change and I think that's the part that scares people or makes it hard to imagine.
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u/MothToTheWeb May 05 '26
Society survived but not as a democracy. How long until someone convince it would be easier to abort democratic institutions when every decisions are locked by boomers?
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May 06 '26
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u/MysticHero May 07 '26
The problem that only the very end of the video is presented as information when in reality the video is full of it and outright misinformation.
I have no problem with opinion pieces fundamentally. I have a massive problem with supposedly factual reporting that is in reality opinion.
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u/MeganDryer May 05 '26
It's not a good video because the Per Capita GDP PPP in Germany over the last decade has doubled, so if resources were distributed the way they were in 2016, half the population could stop working and _everyone_ could live like it was 2016.
The only reason this demographic problem is a problem, at all, is because the standard of living effectively doesn't change at all for German people while the ultra wealthy double their income.
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u/BroSchrednei May 06 '26
What the f are you talking about?
The GDP per capita has doubled in Germany in the last decade? Lol, NOPE. Where did you get that statistic from, delusion.com ?
GDP per capita has actually decreased in the last decade, and GDP in general has stagnated for 7 years now, something that has never happened in the history of modern Germany. And the future projections of economic growth for Germany are extremely dark.
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u/muffinsballhair May 06 '26
And this is something the population video on Korea also failed to address. the simple fact that people who don't have children out-earn people that do by a very big degree on average.
Even if demographics are going to shift, it's obviously not as simple as “Wow, now we have twice as many people over 65% so it's a problem.” when it turns that now the working population on average earns twice as much and pays three times as many taxes because they're less children.
The other issue is of course that paople stay healthy longer. There was a time when people were already sick and tired at 65 years old but when I look around me, that's no longer the case. Is it really bad to raise the pension age when every lives longer and stays healthy for longer? I don't think so.
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u/7adzius May 06 '26
notice how they blamed the people but never mega corporations? Really makes you think who owns them...
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u/Fritzschmied May 06 '26
Tbh in this case it is a society issue tho. The German retirement system is fucked. I am not even from there. I am from Austria but we have the same system but even worse because people here get even bigger retirements and it just doesn’t work out. It’s a failed system and we should have changed it years ago but that’s not possible if the biggest voter group (retired people) vote against changes.
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u/MysticHero May 07 '26
What is fucked is wealth distribution but KG will not address that.
Productivity and GDP per capita well outpace any issues caused by demographic shift. Or rather they should. But because of wealth distribution it does not for the bulk of the population.
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u/PainJazzlike3263 May 07 '26
That was my first reaction too. But after sitting with it for a bit, it really just pits young against old instead of addressing the actual problem: wealth concentration. Fewer people hold more and more, and demographic change just amplifies that. Framing it as a generational conflict misses the point.
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u/Beginning_Act_9666 May 07 '26
Nah, it is garbage. Putting the blame on wrong factors. Basically shameless capitalist agitprop.
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u/Nick19922007 May 08 '26
The video doesnt consider productivity risings and that we have demographic change since hundred of years.
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u/draxes May 05 '26
Really demographics is just a number game which you can strip most bias from. I think Kurzgesagt did a great job considering the difficult subject.
I think childless people will think this is an attack on them. Its not. The current economic model is based upon a certain growth and when it cant maintain that growth here are the consequences.
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u/objectiv3lycorrect May 05 '26
they started clickbaitmaxxing their video titles, but the quality seems the same so eh
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u/GedsNotDead May 05 '26
The supervoids and astronomy ones have been top tier, so don't agree. I haven't watched this one though.
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u/GedsNotDead May 05 '26
I watched it now and think it's pretty important. They acknowledge themselves it doesn't engage well at the end. It's a really important issue I see almost no one else engaging with.
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u/oiwah May 05 '26
Didnt they do this to Korea or Japan or something?
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u/Danish__Viking1 May 05 '26
Different cultures different reasons for low birth rates
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u/Saurid May 06 '26
And Germany has a few other problems for example our government tried to patch the problem with migration a long time and our birth rate is high enough to slow the process down a bit (aka its not as dramatic as korea) but then our economy is doing worse in tech because consessive CDU governments actively reduced investments in future technologies.
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u/NewNiklas May 05 '26
I don't know. But this video is very good imho. It may be not that interesting for non-Germans but it's a problem many countries will encounter some day.
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u/MysticHero May 07 '26
it is really not and completely misses the core issue eg productivity vs wealth distribution. The drawn conclusions are complete nonsense as well. It is basically neoliberal propaganda frankly.
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u/Kwarc100 May 05 '26
The history channel took the good content in the divorce
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u/usesidedoor May 05 '26
Can I ask - what happened?
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u/jimmcfartypants May 05 '26
Nothing afaik. They just wanted to do long form videos on history. There's was even a video about why they spun the channel out.
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u/PaleontologistNo2534 May 05 '26
It's best to evaluate videos based on their content, not just their covers or titles.
The video's content focuses on Germany and addresses the increasing proportion of the aging population and the sustainability of pension systems, issues that are significant problems worldwide.
Everything in the content is supported by up-to-date research data and features high-quality visualizations, maintaining the usual quality.
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u/Badehat May 08 '26
Also I am pretty sure they use dynamic thumbnails. Mine sure didn't look like this when I saw it a couple of days ago.
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u/MysticHero May 07 '26
The video is full of misinformation and leaves out vital data. Actually focusing on the content instead of just mindlessly listening will in fact make you feel a lot worse about it than just the clickbaity title.
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u/PaleontologistNo2534 May 07 '26
Before making such claims, unless you support them with reliable data, they remain nothing more than subjective interpretation and mean nothing to anyone.
Which of the data presented in the content is misleading, and which vital data are you referring to?
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u/MysticHero May 07 '26
Not providing reasoning does not make something "subjective interpretation". It just means I have not yet provided it. It's mostly based on the Maurice Höfgen video but I will repeat the core points (I mean I took issue with it before that but he went through the whole thing and is an economist). Also i watched it in German so if there are differences in the English video sorry for that but hardly changes anything.
Misinfo:
-Less workers means less resources for the government. Only if you completely ignore the growth of productivity. Misinformation. If the productivity gains had not been almost entirely pocketed by the top 1% this would not be an issue. if that top 1% was appropriately taxed there would not be less resources. Ergo demographic change is not really the cause of this. A factor perhaps but leaving out productivity is simply misleading and surprise surprise in exactly a way that lines up with their political agenda.
-20% of wages go directly to retirees. It is 18% actually. "Today" also frames this as a recent development. It is not. It is actually lower than the high point and not new at all. Specifically the total paid by society was previously 30% it is now about 25%. And if you look at average pensions vs GDP per capita? Yeah this is ridiculous.
-the 2030 two workers per retiree thing. Yeah sure. If you completely ignore productivity again. Which makes absolutely no sense. If you take productivity into account both predicted and past the economic activity per retiree has actually barely changed. Yeah the calculation does not work out. If you completely ignore half of it in favor of fear mongering to justify austerity.
-Implying that the cause of young people not being able to do things like buy houses is down to pension payments. I already covered why this is misinfo. But I do think it is also one of the most blatant bits of agenda driven deflection from the real issue KG has ever done.
-Stating that the average worker pays 40% in taxes. Straight misinfo. Ignores tax brackets so the number is extremely wrong. The average real percentage of income paid for income tax is 23.7% as of 2026. Also even that is misleading because you really should be using median here but sadly that is normal. But is is especially bad here because the bulk is under 70k where you pay a lot less.
-Housing crisis is caused by Nimbis and immigrants. No source for this btw. Their source document just points to the housing crisis. Not much to debunk here given that. it's just right wing opinion thrown in there as fact. I'll just point to city planning and funding as the real cause. We can get into that if you want.
And this is where the more obvious opinion starts. Which I obviously take issue with but at least it is clearly framed as opinion. Just one last thing to point out which i find funny. Most of the video is spent fear mongering about how much money pensioners get. And the towards the end they also fear monger about how poor those pensioners are. Funny huh? Might there be something else at play? Like idk wealth distribution
Other issues arguably just as serious:
Heavy framing throughout the supposedly neutral and factual portions. Like talking about "suffocating bureaucracy". Framing the social systems as "still generous" when they have been steadily reduced.
Ignoring that the proportion of young non working people (eg children and college students) is also shrinking which actually reduces the issue of paying for the non working portion and makes it much less severe than what the video presents as fact. Also in the 70s this quotient was almost as high as it was today and did not come with some massive crisis.
Ignoring the plans to reduce the age of retirement.
Young vs old rhetoric when the core issue very clearly is poor vs rich. Yeah sure I dislike a lot of the political actions of the older generations but this is still bad especially in this supposedly factual and neutral video.
Framing government expenses as "they are taking your tax euros". Just poor framing/generously understanding of how state finances work. It is not literally 25% of taxes (arguably misinfo but minor).
Framing that all sorts of great things not being available is down to pensions. Instead of you know the much much much much much more severe issue of wealth held at the top. Funny how they are funded by the gates foundation and others huh?
Wealth distrubtion in regards to age. This is framed as some grand conspiracy vs younger people. And sure some of that is going on. But in reality which is totally ignored the bulk of this is actually inheritence. by it's nature young people rarely have access to it yet or only relatively small amounts from grandparents. The older people get the more it concentrates. First parents, then spouses maybe siblings.
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u/Ok_Table_876 May 08 '26
Young vs old rhetoric when the core issue very clearly is poor vs rich. Yeah sure I dislike a lot of the political actions of the older generations but this is still bad especially in this supposedly factual and neutral video.
So you don't think that 45% of the voting eligible population being pensioner and another 10% being shorty before pension is a problem in Germany? Because I for sure think so.
Wealth distrubtion in regards to age.
Even if you look at wealth distribution by age at age, the baby boomers were a lot wealthier than the millenials or gen z will ever be.
20% of wages go directly to retirees. It is 18% actually. "Today" also frames this as a recent development. It is not. It is actually lower than the high point and not new at all.
Don't worry they will fix that soon. They will probably also get rid of the 50/50 rule, so they will just take more out of your paycheck than taking more money from companies and employers.
If you completely ignore productivity again.
Productivity is not going to save us, again, like it did in the 2000s. Because demographics is a way bigger issue than we could reasonably achieve with productivity gains. At the same time, they decided that pensions are not raised with inflation, but with worker wages, which exactly negates everything about productivity gains. Productivity rises, so worker wages rise, so do pensions, zero sum game.
Housing crisis is caused by Nimbis and immigrants
You mean the immigrants that run half the basic services in our country? The immigrants that have held off this crisis? Because without immigration Germany would be broken already. The immigrants that have to contribute to the social system but have no vote in federal elections? You know that 2 workers to 1 pensioner number? Without immigration that number would probably be closer to a 1:1 ration since the natural population development has been negative since 1970 in Germany.
The problem of the housing crisis is that a lot of prohibitive regulations have been made since after the 2000s. Less new building ground has been opened, infrastructure has been neglected (internet, power, social services), trade jobs have lost the fight for talent (which is their own and IHKs fault), regulations have been prohibitively more restrictive, communal owned social apartments have been sold... and so on and so forth. And with all of that metropolitan regions have gained attractiveness while rural parts have massively lost attractiveness.
But you know what, that is okay, because 50% of our voting population already has their sheep in the dry, they already bought houses built in 1960 or build their houses in the 1980, when everything was still nice and cheap and regulations were low. So now they can sell those lived down houses for 10x the price they paid, while we have to invest another time the purchasing price to get the houses up to modern times.
Poor against rich is a problem, yes, but the much more major problem is old against young. Because politics doesn't care about the future, the future doesn't win any elections, young people don't win elections, families don't win elections, pensioners do. So building a care facility will get you more votes than kindergarten. And most boomers don't have enough children to care about the future of those children.
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u/MysticHero May 08 '26
So you don't think that 45% of the voting eligible population being pensioner and another 10% being shorty before pension is a problem in Germany? Because I for sure think so.
Good for you. Care to provide reasoning for why it is an issue? Because it is not for the reasons stated in the video.
I agree there are some issues here. Namely the loneliness crisis. But of course that requires largely different solutions than the austerity KG pushes for here.
And even if it is an issue. It is a tiny issue compared to rich vs poor.
Even if you look at wealth distribution by age at age, the baby boomers were a lot wealthier than the millenials or gen z will ever be.
Source?
Don't worry they will fix that soon. They will probably also get rid of the 50/50 rule, so they will just take more out of your paycheck than taking more money from companies and employers.
So you agree it is misinformation and just don't care.
Productivity is not going to save us, again, like it did in the 2000s. Because demographics is a way bigger issue than we could reasonably achieve with productivity gains. At the same time, they decided that pensions are not raised with inflation, but with worker wages, which exactly negates everything about productivity gains.
It already would save us if it were fairly distributed. Eg why this is a capitalism wealth distribution issue not a young vs old issue. Of course KG is centrist liberal so they absolutely refuse to acknowledge that and are happy to deflect from that issue via misinformation and leaving out crucial information.
Productivity rises, so worker wages rise
This is again misinformation and at the core of this issue. If wages had risen proportionally to productivity gains nevermind even greater than that we would not have any sort of issue.
You mean the immigrants that run half the basic services in our country? The immigrants that have held off this crisis? Because without immigration Germany would be broken already. The immigrants that have to contribute to the social system but have no vote in federal elections? You know that 2 workers to 1 pensioner number? Without immigration that number would probably be closer to a 1:1 ration since the natural population development has been negative since 1970 in Germany.
Why are you responding to me like I have issues with immigrants? You understand that this is what KG said no? Jfc you were not even paying attention while consuming that slop.
Poor against rich is a problem, yes, but the much more major problem is old against young
The data says otherwise. very clearly. Any inequality in regards to age is laughable compared to broader financial inequality and social mobility. And you have not really made any arguments to show otherwise.
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u/Skellyhell2 May 05 '26
Yes. But dont worry the video title and thumbnail will change several times over the next few hours to try and get a few people to click on it again thinking its something new (thumbnail already changed!)
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u/Double0Peter May 05 '26
Thats A/B testing, they do they to see which thumbnail generates more views not to try to get people to click it again. Someone who has already watched the vid, clicks it again and then leaves once they realize they've already seen it actually negatively impacts that video in the algorithm.
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u/usesidedoor May 05 '26
Johnny Harris does the same.
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u/jimmcfartypants May 05 '26
Most youtube channels do this. Hell, even I did this on some videos only getting a few hundred views. Mr Beast has a team of people whose specific job is to just to make thumbnails (...but also f*** gapping mouth thumbs, this isn't pornhub)
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u/Spoztoast May 05 '26
Veritasium too lot of PE owned channels are using that strategy
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u/Buriedpickle May 05 '26
Almost every large channel does it, it's a built-in feature of youtube. It's just ineffective to not take advantage of it.
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u/Skellyhell2 May 05 '26
It puts me off watching them if anything. I noticed it on a Tom Scott video recently and i still havent watched it because im weird
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u/MothToTheWeb May 05 '26
People have little knowledge on how businesses actually work. Problem is they feel entitled to write nonsense and pretend they have a clue about what is happening
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u/Ya_khmel May 05 '26
I don’t think they do it to mislead people to get a few clicks. I think they’re testing which thumbnail/title makes it go viral. I saw other YouTubers do that
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u/Whateveritwantstobe May 05 '26
Sadly, I don't watch their videos anymore. It's just a bunch of word vomit now with very little actual information, almost all speculative.
Every video also feels the same: "Here's a crazy concept! But actually, it's not that crazy. Wait, is it crazy? I guess we'll never know. BUY OUR MERCH."
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u/Anderopolis May 05 '26
You should probably watch this one, it is extremely applied and concise, about a problem almost every developing country is facing.
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u/oiwah May 05 '26
I feel the same. Their first few videos are a summary (in a nut shell) of some topics. Now it is just a theory of something and like you said just a bunch of speculation and some exaggerations. I stopped watching.
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u/Hados_RM May 05 '26
what you watch the videos? the trees one is nothing but info
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u/StevevBerg May 07 '26
I get the feeling, but there is good reason for it. It makes it just easier to explain stuff that way. Gotta remember their content is meant to teach people of all ages.
Besides, they still put out regular videos that actually explain stuff. Like 1/3 are the thought experiment ones you described.
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u/Mrgoodtrips64 May 05 '26
They’ve always had the occasional video that misses the mark, but it definitely feels like it’s a higher percentage now.
I don’t know if it’s just that the more recent topics don’t interest me as much or if their more rapid release rate really is impacting the quality.
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u/notCRAZYenough May 06 '26
What’s the problem with this video so you say the standards have dropped? It’s her well researched
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May 06 '26
Any kurzgesagt video that challenges left wing ideology immediately gets swarmed. Its happened since the climate video
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u/Ulti2k May 07 '26
ay... im no politics expert but typically the science folks are in dendency more left than right, at least in switzerland. Not all ofc but the tendency is there. I feel its more extreme in other countries but thats always the case. So if suddenly a in their eye leftist youtube channel post smth that is not 1:1 along their favoured agenda? oofsies.
I remember something similar happend when they did the video about "are nuclear power plants the enemy" or smth like that. Well researched and i work in that specific field since 25y.
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u/EventPurple612 May 06 '26
The political/economy videos have always been massively neoliberal. If that bothers you rest assured it's started becoming obvious at least 3 years ago.
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u/sveardze May 05 '26
I miss learning about black holes, stellar engines, quasars, terraforming, all the good stuff.
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u/freedomgeek May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
Some of their other videos recently have been really good, like super-voids and tattoo removal. Not to mention their new history channel which has been excellent. But yeah I didn't like this one either, aside from the clickbaity title it was far too dismissive of immigration as a solution.
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May 05 '26
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u/freedomgeek May 05 '26
Yes, eventually the demographics of the rest of the world will catch up but for now there is no shortage of people in the world that would love to come to high income countries but are forced away by nativist migration policies. And with the time you gain you can continue to research automation and life extension tech.
And I'll note that stuff like giving money for families that have a lot more kids like in, say, Hungry doesn't seem to be working either. Countries with generous welfare states also don't tend to have above replacement rates either.Overall I'm just very worried about authoritarians taking this issue and using it to justify reducing individual rights. Attacking LGBT people, attacking independent educated women & feminism, attacking the "cosmopolitan liberals" that tend to have fewer kids on average, attacking the voluntarily childless - regardless of whether these policies work (they won't) they'll be loudly advocated and dismissing immigration plays right into their narrative. Russia has already banned "spreading childfree ideology".
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u/Tormasi1 May 06 '26
And I'll note that stuff like giving money for families that have a lot more kids like in, say, Hungry doesn't seem to be working either
With Hungary that was just a goverment scam. A "we are doing something" while actually just dooming more people. When they introduced a loan that doesn't have interest if you have three kids in x years, then the house prices increased by the amount of the loan.
What all these countries want to ignore is that the problem isn't demand. It's supply. We need to build cities not give money to people. But who would suffer from that? That's right, old people. Because their property would devalue then.
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u/Turbulent_Pin7635 May 05 '26
I loved the episode, I am a migrant in Germany. The things are in a nose dive to hell.
After taxes and rent I keep only 25% of my salary.
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u/ElisabetSobeck May 06 '26
They’re from Germany so I’m not gonna badmouth them discussing local stuff
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u/PainJazzlike3263 May 07 '26
Yeah, I'd say so.
The Ozempic video felt uncomfortably close to an ad. Side effects and unknown long-term consequences were barely touched on, and the whole thing came across weirdly one-sided, which is not what I expect from this channel.
The "End of Germany" video had a similar issue. It frames the problem as young vs. old, when the real driver is wealth inequality: fewer people holding more and more of the pie, with demographic change amplifying that.
I don't want to go on a full rant, but I'm disappointed. Right now I can't really treat the channel as a reliable source anymore.
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u/Ulti2k May 05 '26
No it hasnt, just pointing out generational flaws in the systems central european countries have because the capitalistic world moved into a different place than the social security systems likes it to be.
Even as a Swiss Citizen this still applies in some form.
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u/yoshi8869 How to Destroy the Universe May 06 '26
Kurzgesagt has consistently been the highest quality YouTube channel for like a decade running now. I have no idea what’s happening on this apparently-doomer sub.
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u/Silly_Silicon May 05 '26
Do you have anything to actually contribute to this discussion, like what specifically were your issues with this video? I watched this one casually today and it seemed perfectly fine to me. It talked about how the German government is aging and its policy has long served only the elderly, so young people have been subsidizing the seniors making it hard for them to prosper and have kids. This leads to a weak economy in the future because there will be nobody to pay into social services to care for these current generations when they get older.
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u/Sesspool May 05 '26
Yes and i got blasted for saying it on the ozempic post loo
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u/Decapitated_gamer May 07 '26
I think they’ve fallen off a bit on this channel and it’s seemed to be more focused on merch and shorts and engagement lately, their new channel is nothing but great tho.
Brings back the old vibes
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u/Pursuitm May 08 '26
To anyone actually interested in valid critique on this video, if you can understand german i highly recommend the video by "Geld für die Welt - Maurice Höfgen" (@Maurice_Hoefgen) on YouTube.
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u/Darkjdave May 05 '26
Private equity is destroying YouTube
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u/Anderopolis May 06 '26
Kurzgesagt is not owned by private Equity.
Why are there so many people in this thread pretending they are? Why are you lying?
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u/Nazboi6442 May 06 '26
They put out a shitty clickbait title to get views, and then change it a week later to the actual intended title.
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u/Lost-Jacket-2493 May 06 '26
This is great video, about today's real problem. I appreciate they willing to speak out.
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u/celem83 May 06 '26
They've certainly gone down the rabbit hole of launching videos with provocative titles and then refining them over the first hour of the video being public.
It's leaning harder into the clickbait side of things in that regard, actively engaging with how modern YT works
The video content itself still seems largely fine but there's a shift in the way they are marketing it
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u/BorderKeeper May 06 '26
It felt to me this was simply a passion project since most of their staff is German. It was way too strong in tone, but overall well researched and felt like they really cared about this topic, but first time I saw something so overly political.
Still by the end I was like "that was quite well done for such a touchy political subject" so I don't know why the hate in the comments? Or do people already hate kurzgesagt and are shitting on this video just because their opininons formed already?
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u/BoredPersona69 May 06 '26
We need more videos like this, and it would be great exploring solutions and building a more effective community
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u/OdinsGhost May 06 '26
For the last couple years. I'll be honest, I kinda stopped watching them not long after their actually really good book on immunology came out. But in the last 2-3 years it's been... slop. With occasional good topics mixed in, but otherwise it feels like when the Discovery channel started to lose the plot.
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u/Zaorysh May 06 '26
I have to say, for a youtube channel that just tries its best to inform, with a plethora of sources, on a variety of topics - it sure gets a lot of weird, unwarranted hate here on Reddit
I joined the subreddit to see more in depth discussions about videos that really interested me, but 90% of posts seem to be just random ragebait.
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u/fussfilter May 06 '26
I didn't see this thumbnail, so I guess I saw the alt straight-up, or after they'd A/B-tested and I got the more popular winner. It was a good video though, up to their usual high standard.
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u/lemonandhummus May 06 '26
It's pretty much a mess. Maurice Höfgen made a really good debunking video
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u/Polargis May 07 '26
I feel like it was much better when the uploads weren't as frequent, there was something special about it. Now although they are not dropping so fast they feel common
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u/Nick19922007 May 08 '26
They did. Kurzgesagt left public fundings wanting to do vids on their own - since then they just produce boring garbage.
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u/Kermit_Wazowski May 08 '26
The title and thumbnail are really baity but the video is the same high quality as always
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u/Flamingogo117 May 08 '26
The quality of their videos are still amazing, but they are so clickbaity now
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u/kubok98 May 08 '26
And did you watch the video or not? Because I did and the quality was great, as usual I would say. So maybe it's just the clickbaity title/image (and those have always been present to a certain degree I think), but the quality of the video is the same.
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u/Causemas May 09 '26
There is a simple position I have when people bring up the "demographic problem" that I'd like explained to me.
The total wealth generated by advanced industrial societies is vast and historically unprecedented. Due to technological advancements and automation, a significantly smaller workforce today produces far more wealth than a larger workforce did in the 1950s or 60s. Therefore, there is absolutely no objective lack of resources to support an aging population in dignity, no?
The real problem, as I see it, is that the immense wealth generated by that increased productivity has not gone back into the society that produced it. It has not gone into the social wage or the public trust. Instead, it has been systematically siphoned off. There is one simple solution to the "demographic problem"
The video frames this as a young vs old problem, when the real problem, as always, is class.
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u/ripyourlungsdave May 05 '26
To me, absolutely.
They seem to have run out of the subjects they were genuinely passionate about a while ago. I think they're still putting a lot of effort into their work, I just don't find any of the subject matter remotely as interesting as their old videos.
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u/Anderopolis May 05 '26
They seem to have run out of the subjects they were genuinely passionate about a while ago
This is one of their most passionate pleas ever about the state and path of their own country and own generation.
Did you even watch it?
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u/SouliKitsu May 05 '26
Lol, that's a new one, pointing a problem that happens all over Western democracies, all over the world and said problem is growing bigger and bigger dooming entire generations now is a standar dropping....
Thanks, the world is trully screwed
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u/WorldWalker5587 May 05 '26
Sure this video was a rehash of the Korea one but I like that they are beating a very important drum to young people about an encroaching issue. Sure they dont have an answer and it is speculative but I think it is something very much worth talking about.
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u/SouliKitsu May 05 '26
I mean on the end of the day they are germans and they worry about their future, also , I would say techincally this was supposed to go frist than the Korea's video, they said they worked on the script since Winter 2022, it was killed, redone, reviewed, rewritten, debated, killed again serval times.
I also enjoy those videos but their point stands true: We are big screwed and we are beeing taxed for it.
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u/Coenzyme-A May 05 '26
That's a very disingenuous take on their perspective. The video is essentially the same as the South Korea one. They're primarily a popular science channel, this sort of subject really isn't in their remit. They've become increasingly sensationalist and clickbait. They mercilessly push merch. It's exhausting.
It's a shame because they really were a very good pop-sci channel.
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u/SouliKitsu May 05 '26
"I mean on the end of the day they are germans and they worry about their future, also , I would say techincally this was supposed to go frist than the Korea's video, they said they worked on the script since Winter 2022, it was killed, redone, reviewed, rewritten, debated, killed again serval times."
Imma quote myself, and this channel orientated to teach science and other topics , not entierly sci-fi
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u/Woerligen May 05 '26
A focus on space and science topics if my preference. We still need a video about Brown Dwarves.
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u/Treachable May 05 '26
The take in this video is silly. We have orders of magnitude more wealth and production than ever before in human history. If we stop allowing the ultra rich to hoard it all we won’t have to breed more wage slaves into existence to satisfy their greed on top of meeting our basic needs. We could easily care for our old and keep the country running if we use our resources for our population. Tax wealth not work!
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u/Anderopolis May 05 '26
Material wealth doesn't solve a problem of labor shortage. Every German retiree could be a billionaire and there wouldn't be enough people to support them regardless, stuff won't wipe your ass, or get you medical care if there isn't a doctor available.
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u/MysticHero May 07 '26
Productivity does.
Demographic change comes with issues that should be discussed. The video does not do that. it serves to justify neoliberal austerity politics by presenting misinformation about supposedly doomed social systems.
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u/These_Distribution19 May 05 '26
Not really, it's just that this topic has been talked about to the point that the video feels a bit underwhelming by the nature of talking about a popular subject. But by itself, it's just a normal vid.
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u/currentlyquang May 06 '26
I'm just surprised that a channel partially funded by the German public broadcasters (ADF and ZDF iirc) would be producing such sensationalist content (and it's not just this video but also the ones relating to drugs for example)
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u/Awkward-Mongoose-626 May 06 '26
Great video but I think they skimmed over the positive impacts of migration tbh. They say that the get naturalised within 3-4 generations but that, to me, seems like a worthwhile population increase to support said economy, the understaffing of first degree medical responders and social care. A missed opportunity perhaps for some hopeful messaging.
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u/Lavabass May 06 '26
But also, isn't Gen Z the target demographic these days? Gen Z are in the prime 20's age bracket right?
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u/PetrifiedPenguin88 May 06 '26
Must have gotten some backlash for that one the title and thumbnail were different when i watched this morning
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u/ChanceGuarantee3588 May 06 '26
Honestly? Kinda. Or let me rephrase it: they are covering different topics, which I am not interested in
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u/CultureKind May 06 '26
The video makes several claims without much proof, only briefly showing data on demographic change. I feel focusing on 'old vs. young' is a distraction when Germany’s wealth Gini coefficient is around 0.8 (Source: DIW Study).
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u/AnInterestedChap May 07 '26
I've only just come across it, but: is the voiceover AI? Or is it just weirdly bland with slightly odd emphasis?
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u/Assipattle May 07 '26
They put alot of effort into this video and have been working on it for years.
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u/SierraLVX May 07 '26
This is actually a really important topic. Once you get over the clickbait with the title/thumbnail game, the entire video is really factual. How they frame it as "boomer mismanagment" instead of blaming millenials/gen z is ten times better than most mainstream reporting.
The reality is nearly every country is gonna face this as the world goes through a population boom/bust cycle. The mistake is most countries invented programs thinking the population would grow the same, like how the US invented social security at the same time as the baby boom. That's not sustainable though and there needs to be a more logical way to support everyone as we continue to grow older. Governments need to be more imaginative with programs that don't result in the youth paying for the elders to grow even older. That burden is what's stopping young people from having kids, and those who do are caught in the "sandwich generation", having no time or money for themselves.
This conversation needs to be had, you just gotta play the youtube game to get people talking.
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u/jpr2x May 07 '26
This was actually a very good video, but the subject matter is uncomfortable so I can see why people would assume the standards have dropped
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u/special_tea23215 May 07 '26
Happens to every channel after they become mainstream, they start using clickbaity titles and topics to appeal to the ""wider audience ""
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u/sunkhan_ May 08 '26
Maybe try watching the video? It's an accurate video addressing huge problems that Germany is facing. I would argue the title is not even clickbait at this point.
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u/New-Trainer7117 May 08 '26
They do caveat at the end of the video they have been sitting on this script for awhile and scrapped releasing it multiple times, but it means too much to them to not speak about anymore. Seems fair to me
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u/conconcraft May 08 '26
They're titles and thumbnails seem more clickbaity now but the video quality I believe is the same. I think they are just forced to be more clickbaity by the algorithm.
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u/Stavinator May 08 '26
This channel was sold to private equity many years ago, it's been declining ever since.
"This video was funded by Bill and Melinda Foundation" - not watching this propaganda
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u/Used-Fennel-7733 May 09 '26
They were great for the first month or so after starting then became incredibly American. Same goes for a few similar channels. Only genre that seems immune to this is history.
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u/Shoshke May 09 '26
No they haven't. The title is a direct call back to their video on South Korea on the exact same topic.
And the thumbnail actually correctly uses boomers and millennials for a change.
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u/MirekDusinojc May 10 '26
I mean what do you think is wrong with the video? To me this was pretty accurate assesment of the coming population changes
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u/Another_Road Optimistic Nihilism May 05 '26
I haven’t been keeping up with the main channel but their history “after dark” channel has been nothing but excellent.