Top 10 WatchMojo Lists That Had To Be Censored

We showcase clips from a variety of TV shows and movies in our videos. But sometimes, YouTube deems those clips problematic for brand safety, and demonetizes the videos. This could be for adult content, violence, or sensitive and controversial issues. In the case of Top 10 Movies Ruined by MythBusters, it was due to firearms-related content. To get this video monetized, we trimmed a scene from 2007’s “Shoot ‘Em Up”, which featured Clive Owen, a baby, and a LOT of firepower. We also removed shots of the Build Team swinging guns, the likelier culprit here. Upon re-upload with these changes, the video was monetized.

A cursory click and search through YouTube can put you onto many different lists of dangerous toys throughout the years. Some of these videos are careful with how they present the occasionally controversial nature of this subject matter, while others take a more light-hearted approach. We were definitely trying to avoid coming across as flippant or dismissive with our video, Top 20 Most Dangerous Toys Ever Made. Because our original, Top 10 list received limited monetization, we had to make adjustments to our language and clips for the Top 20 version.

Creating content for YouTube is a fluid and ever-changing business, with standards of acceptable language changing all the time. Certain words that might have been allowed at one point later raise a red flag. For a while, a lot of our content featuring the word “bully” seemed to be getting flagged by YouTube. This project was originally titled Top 10 Times Anime Bullies Got Wrecked. It included some graphic (animated) clips illustrating the entries. However, after YouTube demonetized it, we trimmed the visuals and changed the title to remove the “b” word. Although initially, it was demonetized again, it’s since received monetization. “Bully” doesn’t seem to be getting flagged as much these days, hence our liberal use here.

When deciding to do this list, we knew we had an uphill battle. But we thought that by using creative language, and being very careful with what we actually showed, we had a shot. Unfortunately, that proved not to be the case. Our video for the Top 10 Grossest Fear Factor Food Challenges was flagged for featuring “harmful and dangerous acts,” despite our best efforts to the contrary. It turns out that it’s difficult to write about “Fear Factor” without actually showing “Fear Factor,” and there was little we could do after the fact to clean up the final product. The video is up, but demonetized.

The writers here at WatchMojo handle a lot of scripts every week, and do their best to keep the language and structure of our videos fresh. As a result, some words are used more than others, while still more… well, just seem to fit the subject matter perfectly. Initially, we titled this video “Top 10 Horror Movie Douchebags”, and it included a clip with a swear word starting a “a”. However, YouTube didn’t quite agree with our choices, and the clip was demonetized. We ended up changing the title to “Top 10 Horror Movie Idiots,” removed the curse word in question, and all was right again with the world.

YouTube is a place for everyone, and content that isn’t age-restricted has to be age–appropriate. It’s also important, when it comes to bad advice, to discuss it, without encouraging it. Unfortunately, we discovered that our video Top 10 Worst Celebrity Advice Ever Given was a bit of a minefield in these respects. YouTube informed us that it contained Adult Content, as well as Harmful or Dangerous Acts. As a result, we modified our entries on Joe Gorga, Jenny McCarthy, and Gwyneth Paltrow, to describe their advice less directly.

It was the event that could not be named, at least not specifically. Believe it or not, all it took was a brief mention of the Covid-19 Pandemic for one of our videos to be demonetized. We’re talking specifically about the Top 10 Things We Need in HBO’s The Last of Us, a topic that didn’t necessarily need to be associated with a global pandemic, but it was mentioned, and as a result was immediately flagged. We edited out that mention of Coronavirus, and the video was once again monetized by YouTube. Of note: the criteria behind this particular language flag has since been changed, allowing for only factual and responsible references to Covid-19 to be monetized.

We love talking about horror here at WatchMojo, and we’d honestly also love to dig down into the muck with you guys and show you all of the good parts. However, excessive violence is oftentimes a big no-no with YouTube, often requiring us to make particular edits in order to skirt around what we can and can’t show. Our video for the Top 10 Hardest Saw Traps was flagged by a YouTube bot, and we went to work, trimming the clips in the hope that we could appeal our case. Unfortunately, our best efforts were in vain, and that video ended up being censored and demonetized. Cue that sad trombone.

When it comes to what we can show in animation, the sky is the limit right? Well, it turns out there was a limit to what we could show with these clips, as both the Top 20 Thirstiest Anime Girls and Top 10 Hottest Anime Teachers were flagged for “adult content.” This was thanks not only to the copious amounts of steamy shots originally featured in the videos, but also for the admittedly questionable decision for us to make these lists in the first place. Well, the joke ended up being on us, because both of these clips remain demonetized.

As we’ve seen throughout this list, it’s not always our older videos that get flagged. In fact, our number one pick was published in January 2022, and required editing in order to make it the video you see today. Any video dealing with conspiracy theories has the potential to cross into events or topics that are sensitive for a number of reasons. Our video for the Top 10 Conspiracy Theories of the Century (So Far) originally had a discussion about the 9/11 Truth Movement, but we ultimately decided to remove and replace the entry, in accordance with how YouTube historically approaches coverage of this event, and the conspiracy theories that continue to surround it to this day.