YouTube AI error costs popular creator his channel over alleged link to Japanese account

Update 05/11/25 – 09:10 am (IST): Reports from yesterday suggest that the issue extended beyond just Enderman. Multiple other channels were terminated due to a glitch in the system linking them to a random Japanese channel. However, it seems like YouTube is rectifying the major mistake and is reinstating channels that were terminated falsely.

Enderman confirmed that they got back the channel.

Furthermore, a couple of other users who had complained about the same problem also later thanked YouTube for recovering their channels.

Original article published on November 4, 2025, follows:

A popular tech YouTuber with over 350,000 subscribers has lost his channel after YouTube’s automated systems flagged him for an alleged connection to a completely unrelated Japanese channel that received copyright strikes. Enderman, known for his Windows customization and tech experiment videos, says he has no association with the channel in question.

The termination email, shared by Enderman on X, stated that his secondary channel “Andrew” was permanently removed because it was “linked to a channel that was terminated for having three or more Copyright strikes.” The linked channel name appears in Japanese characters, which Enderman maintains he has zero connection to. The email went further, warning that his main channel would also face permanent termination unless the linked channel is reinstated.

“This is the end of the line,” Enderman said in a farewell video posted shortly before his main channel vanished entirely. “My channel is soon to be terminated because my first channel is linked to my secondary channel.” That video, originally posted to YouTube, has since disappeared along with his entire account. A backup remains on Odysee, an alternative video platform.

To no one’s surprise, this situation has got a lot of fans talking. One commenter noted they were literally watching Enderman’s video about the termination when his channel got banned mid-viewing. Others pointed out the irony of YouTube’s heavy reliance on AI moderation while simultaneously failing to address actual problems like scams and spam that plague the platform daily.

This isn’t Enderman’s first brush with YouTube’s moderation systems. Since 2021, he’s had multiple videos removed, including tutorials on Windows activation and interactions with AI tools. However, this termination appears different in both scope and consequence.

YouTube’s appeal process involves submitting a form, but many creators report poor success rates with reinstatement requests. The platform claims to use “a combination of automated systems and human reviews” for content decisions, though the balance seems heavily tilted toward automation.

Rival platform Odysee has already reached out, offering Enderman a home for his content.

Whether YouTube will reverse this decision remains uncertain, but the incident highlights growing concerns about algorithmic enforcement actions that can destroy creator livelihoods with little recourse.

That said, given the channel’s popularity and what appears to be a clear mix-up on YouTube’s part, it’s likely that the channel will be reinstated. We’ll post an update if and when there are any further developments.

We stand out from the tech-media crowd because we break news stories; we mainly bring you stuff that you won’t find anywhere in the mainstream tech media. Our stories have been picked up by some of the world’s most popular websites and media outlets—more info is available here.