Fact Check: Has IShowSpeed been banned on YouTube?

Darren "IShowSpeed" took to Instagram and his second YouTube channel to declare his suspension from YouTube after receiving a strike for violating community guidelines.

The 19-year-old was last seen on a stream that was taken down by YouTube due to his suggestive demonstration in the popular sandbox game, Minecraft.

The controversial streamer pensively shared information about receiving a strike from YouTube. He further dispelled any hope of returning to streaming due to the ban. He stated:

What does receiving a strike mean? Will IShowSpeed return?

According to YouTube's community help section, a user can receive up to three strikes on their channels. The first strike won't allow the creator to upload for a week. Receiving a second one will restrict them from posting for two weeks, while a third strike will permanently remove the account and prohibit them from operating other ones as well.

Users usually get a strike for violating community guidelines when their content includes explicit demonstrations or graphic details. It should also be noted that one only gets their first strike after a warning. Hence, Speed receiving the strike points to the fact that he has been given a prior warning.

The Ohio-born content creator was handed a strike due to his content having visually suggestive clips. In a stream uploaded on July 21, IShowSpeed was seen playing an adult mod on Minecraft where an NPC named Jenny performed a graphical act on the YouTuber's character.

The entire segment received a mixed response from the YouTube community, with some claiming that it wasn't any weirder than Speed's usual shenanigans. Meanwhile, others stated that his content was not appropriate for younger audiences. After receiving the strike, IShowSpeed wrote on his Instagram story on July 22:

He further tweeted a screenshot of a YouTube message indicating that the stream had been removed. This also means that IShowSpeed's channel received a community guideline strike.

The YouTuber then went back-and-forth with fellow streamer Jake Lucky after the latter had shared the Minecraft clip on his Twitter account. Speed was visibly infuriated and claimed that Jake was using his videos to gain popularity. After receiving some flak, the latter apologized for sharing the clip.

Fans' reactions

Considering that the 19-year-old streamer has only received a strike, he should be able to upload in a matter of one to two weeks. Many have considered his farewell message to be an exaggeration of the situation. Here are some of the comments:

In the midst of the controversy, the Ohio native has also completed his 10-million subscriber count on his main channel. Since he was unable to upload on his account, Speed took to his second channel to celebrate reaching the landmark with his fans.

About the author

Shreyan is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda, focusing on streamer content. He holds a Master's degree in English Literature, and journalism was the most logical next step for him. Although titles like FIFA 08 and GTA San Andreas acted as the catalyst for his love of video games, the exponential growth of the streaming community also propelled his interest in the genre. He also has a prior work experience of 2 years.

Shreyan considers factual and accurate content to be the most important as a creator and a reader. He ensures this by double checking every piece of information in his articles and sourcing it from streamers directly rather than depend on third parties. His works have caught the attention of the heavyweights, with the PR team of Sidemen (a YouTube group he’s been following since his teenage days) and Chess.com reaching out to him for sending exclusive press releases.

Shreyan would love to drop into the virtual world of FIFA/EA FC and explore it further but, he would recommend playing Red Dead Redemption 2 to gaming skeptics for its top-tier gameplay, story and characters. During his downtime, he enjoys balancing his interests in reading, watching films and sports, and of course, playing video games.

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