The YouTube channel of Ahman “ApoRed” Ahadi for the game Fortnite was deleted. Developer Epic had issued copyright strikes against the channel “RedSama”. There was probably nothing more to be done. Thus, one of the largest German YouTube channels for Fortnite has been deleted. However, the YouTuber has a replacement.
What kind of channel was that? The channel was called “RedSama” and belonged to YouTuber ApoRed.
The channel existed since April 7, 2014. It had 1.48 million subscribers and was thus the 126th largest channel on YouTube in Germany. (via socialblade)
On the channel, primarily Fortnite videos were uploaded:
- The channel generated about 300,000 new views daily until recently – that amounts to 9 million views a month
- Its peak was in spring 2018, just like Fortnite itself. In March 2018, the channel reached almost 30 million views in a month.
Epic lifts copyright strikes against YouTube channel
Why was the channel deleted? As the YouTuber said in a video on November 2, developer Epic Games had issued several copyright strikes against the channel. This happened on November 1.
Afterward, a countdown of 7 days ticked down until the channel was suspended.
Apored subsequently deleted all Fortnite content from his channel, removing over 246 million views from the statistics. Additionally, he wanted to involve his lawyer. But that apparently did not help.
Meanwhile, it is November 8, and the channel is indeed suspended. The explanatory video from November 2 is also no longer available.
How relevant was the channel? The channel RedSama was among the largest Fortnite channels in Germany. Larger gaming channels with Fortnite content are:
- Standart Skill with 2.55 million subscribers
- SpontanaBlack from Twitch streamer Montanablack with 1.99 million subscribers
- iCrimax with 1.92 million subscribers
However, these are mostly general gaming channels that also feature other games besides Fortnite.
ApoRed claimed to have been one of the first YouTubers in Germany to discover Fortnite and helped to make it “big”.
Epic does not provide reasons – But it was probably advertising for skin sellers
Why did Epic go after ApoRed’s channel? This is not entirely clear. ApoRed repeatedly insisted that he had done nothing that others had not done as well.
However, ApoRed admitted to having advertised websites where players can purchase skins for Fortnite.
This might have upset Epic.
Earlier, there had already been speculation that Epic did not wish to collaborate with the YouTuber.
ApoRed stated in September 2018 that Epic did not want to work with him because he was not “brand safe”, meaning not a person with whom a company would want to be associated. He could not understand this.
The reasons were not entirely clear here either. However, ApoRed had earned a certain reputation with a “prank” video.
In 2016, ApoRed released a video where he threw a bag at people and pretended there was a bomb inside the bag. He called out: “You better run if your life is worth something.”
For this “prank”, he received a seven-month suspended prison sentence and 200 hours of community service (via spiegelonline). About half a year before the “prank”, 130 people had died in an attack in Paris.
What happens next? ApoRed has launched a new channel for Fortnite, which is again called “RedSama”. It currently has 122,000 subscribers.
