New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on November 25, 2022) follows:

YouTube is currently the most popular video platform in the world. Content creators have been a fundamental part of the growth of the platform.

Once content creators get a certain number of views and subscribers to their channels, they start to attract the attention of brands for advertising purposes.

Paid advertising has become one of the main monetization methods for many channels. However, they should be very careful with what they are advertising, but unfortunately that does not happen in all cases.

YouTube

One of the most recent YouTube controversies is that of ‘Established Titles’. In this article, we will explain what it is about and what we know so far.

Established Titles controversy on YouTube sponsorships

It all started when a company began promoting Established Titles via sponsored videos with many creators. According to the promotional material, Established Titles would allow you to become a ‘landowner’ in Scotland.

Apparently, Established Titles would allow them to own a block of land in Scotland. Not only that, but they would even allow them to obtain the title of ‘Lord’ or ‘Lady’.

The Established Titles YouTube sponsorship segment in many videos mentions that through an historic Scottish custom, you could become the rightful owner of a certain piece of Scottish land.

established-titles-scam-legit-sponsorship-youtube-3
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As Established Titles began paying to sponsor prominent YouTube channels, it captured the interest of the thousands (or millions) of followers of these channels.

Unfortunately, it appears to be a little more complex than one might assume, but not entirely a “scam”.

Sponsored Established Titles: a scam or something legitimate?

According to information shared by some on YouTube and other platforms, the promised Established Titles appear to be just a ‘digital certificate’ with no real value.

First, the buyers will not legitimately own any land in Scotland. In fact, these are not even recognized by the Scottish government.

Of course, this also means that buyers will not be able to obtain the official title of ‘Lord’ or ‘Lady’ through them. In fact, doing something like this is not legally possible, since the requirements are different.

established-titles-scam-legit-sponsorship-youtube-1
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Established Titles is a Scam

They are not recognised and do not plant a tree they just give you a novelty certificate which you have to pay extra for, if you want a physical certificate you have to pay extra.

And you even can’t become a lord or lady as they claim as they’re not legally recognised by Scotland and there’s no way for them to transfer ownership of land,
Source

Regarding one of Muta’s sponsor Established Titles

As pointed out in a comment reply in muta’s recent video where he was sponsered by established titles, it seems that established titles is kind of sketchy.

one of the points mentioned was that how its not legally possible to get ownership of a really small piece of land in Scotland, which kind of means its just a cool looking certificate, which is kind of misleading when you say you get a physical land
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Where did the companies selling Established Titles come from?

Some YouTube channels have dedicated themselves to investigating to shed more light on the matter. The information they have managed to find is quite interesting and revealing.

It seems that the main seller of Established Titles (and the one that is paying for sponsorships on big YouTube channels) is nothing more than a “fraudulent” company based in Hong Kong.

In the past, this company was dedicated to the auction sector with practices that were quite debatable. For example, users who participated in their auctions had to pay for each bid, even if they lost it.

The company also sold counterfeits of original products, which led to lawsuits. Following the lawsuits, the company decided to move its headquarters to Hong Kong (where the legislation is different).

Then, from their new location, they started the business of selling the Scottish Established Titles via online paying for sponsorships on well-known channels to speed up the process of “getting known”.

We’ll be following up on the situation as and when we come across any additional information regarding whether Established Titles is a legitimate company or a scam.

Update 1 (November 28, 2022)

09:57 am (IST): Established Titles is a Hong Kong based shell company owned by Galton Voysey.

Moreover, a creator has recently revealed that they were offered $3,500 for a single 60s pre-roll for Established Titles.

Update 2 (November 29, 2022)

10:22 am (IST): In a YouTube video uploaded on Fact Fiend, the creators have highlighted the facts where Established Titles are clearly marketed as a gag gift or a novelty item.

However, the company is directly responsible for planting trees, thanks to its ties with One Tree Planted and Trees For The Future.

Therefore, anyone looking to buy Established Titles as a novelty gift should know that while they won’t actually own any land in Scotland through the purchase, they are definitely helping to plant trees and donating to a legit cause.

Furthermore, they also have a dedicated page on their website regarding this issue. You can check it out here.

Update 3 (November 30, 2022)

12:46 pm (IST): One Tree Planted has allegedly responded to a Twitter user who asked whether Established Titles indeed help plant trees. And the response was positive. You can check it out below.

Eshtablished-Titles-One-Tree-Planted-response
(Tap/click to enlarge)

Update 4 (December 01, 2022)

04:31 pm (IST): It seems that the information given on the websites of some of the Established Titles’ legitimate partners does imply that the company is making a donation. However, users are also pointing out that there is no proof of the precise amount of donation being made.

Well I’m glad you are happy with spending $50 and 99% of that going to shady people. I would just give all they money to a charity…
Source

Additionally, the company also hasn’t made any clarifications.

Update 5 (December 02, 2022)

17:30 pm (IST): Due to the controversy surrounding Established Titles, some YouTubers have dropped their sponsorship and will no longer promote them.

The list of YouTubers who have dropped their sponsorship includes the following names:

  • Philip DeFranco
  • OmniTheQuartering
  • SomeOrdinaryGamers
  • Heavy Spoilers
  • Browntable
  • Also, according to NBC News, they got documentation (receipts) that prove that Established Titles has been financing the planting of thousands of trees. However, they cannot confirm how much they have donated so far.

    PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.

    Jean Leon
    1613 Posts

    A tech enthusiast since ever. I like to always be up to date on the latest news in the industry and write about it. Twitter: @jean_ERdC

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