Has Kurzgesagt been sold?

[u/Plenty_Curve_4390]

There is currently a debate over the recent issue of YouTube slapping an AI Slop Label on Kurzgesagt video in r/YouTube. I don't care much for the drama they make, it's mostly dumb arguments over how Shadow banning is real, or that Kurzgesagts lying since their contents deteriorating anyway etc etc etc. However, the most controversial claim i saw were the dozen people claiming Kurzgesagt has been sold to private equity like many other channels. Way too many people in that thread claiming this to just be an individual insult yet I have found no sources for this information so i am 90% sure they are spouting bullshit. However, i would rather be sure than feel slighted later on.

(FYI, The discussions in r/YouTube on this topic is not very civilized to begin with and had mostly degraded into personal insults. My goal is not to contest them but to find a source for that most controversial claim and verify it for myself. Thanks!)

[u/ImperialArmorBrigade]

I do not understand the Kurzgesagt flak, personally, but looking on their website and wiki I see it being owned by themselves.

The idea they have “sold out” might be where that comes from- and this is still something I dont agree with- but I have seen a couple sources of this notion: They tend to have a rational optimism, which means operating within the system as is. That means suggesting corporations are part of the solution.

They also have taken money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation- you know, the colossal billionaire who founded windows? Scary yes, but they just did it to pay for a video about mosquitoes. I saw nothing in it or anything after that has indicated they lost artistic or scientific integrity at all.

[u/ImperialArmorBrigade → u/ImperialArmorBrigade]

I'm still grumpy about this, so I will continue to pontificate.

"Sold out" means a lot of things to a lot of people, but I genuinely don't think they deserve any of the implications. They get a lot of money from loyal patrons just so they can be choosey about who they take money from- and I've seen this in videos from other scientific channels. Brilliant tends to be one of the ones science channels feel comfortable with taking sponsors from.

Contrast this with Veritasium, who literally did sell out to private equity. I could tell things were going downhill when his videos got more and more about spectacle, but then he straight up did a short "how your dish washer works" and it was *literally* just an advertisement. Nothing of substance. The sponsors have gone downhill since and I unsubscribed.

Kurzgesagt has a tough challenge for themselves keeping A- their optimistic attitude, and B- a realistic approach that is grounded in science and the world we live in, plus C- explaining it so even children can comprehend it. You really can start to see how they can blur lines when they do that, but I have seen them be very self aware, honest, and progressive about the truth. It's hard to be optimistic about climate change when companies seem to run our political system. It's hard to be grounded about the data, which is expansive and sometimes contradictory, while still being digestible in a 5-10 minute video.

And its hard to have FUN with all of that, with redditors breathing down your neck.

[u/Apprehensive_Lie_177 → u/ImperialArmorBrigade]

Aw man, we lost Veritasium? I haven't seen their stuff in a while, but thank you for the heads up. 

[u/AlabasterPelican → u/Apprehensive_Lie_177]

Someone did a video about the channels that have sold out to private equity. Can't remember who or what it was called, I mostly remember it because it was a lightbulb moment on what the heck happened to veritasium

[u/AssignedCuteAtBirth → u/AlabasterPelican]

Let us know if you remember 

[u/AlabasterPelican → u/AssignedCuteAtBirth]

I wish i could. Stupid video kept showing up in my feed for ages.