YouTube's tagline is "Broadcast Yourself." But for thousands of independent creators, that promise has been hijacked.

My name is Carla Alvarez, and I am a YouTube creator. Two of my channels were forcibly placed under the control of a Multi-Channel Network (MCN) without my knowledge or consent. A third channel was stolen entirely off my account by the managers of that MCN and is still being used today — two years and countless support requests later — as part of a watchtime and AdSense laundering operation.

YouTube's response? "We don't see evidence of account compromise."

I am not alone. Across the platform, creators have reported channels hijacked into MCNs without consent, watchtime stolen, engagement erased, subscribers siphoned onto other channels, and analytics manipulated in real time. The problem is not isolated. It is systemic.
 
What Are Multi-Channel Networks?

Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs) are intermediary companies that group YouTube channels under a single umbrella, typically taking a cut of revenue in exchange for services like cross-promotion, production resources, or brand deals. YouTube provides these companies with tools and access that far exceed those of individual creators.  The multi-channel content management system provided by YouTube to the networks allow the MCN to alter video meta data, change engagement, move subscribers, as well as watchtime, from one channel to the next.

Over time, many MCNs have been acquired by major corporations​, consolidating control of the platform into fewer and fewer hands. 

YouTube built its brand on being a platform where regular people could broadcast their own voices. With the proliferation of MCNs — followed by corporate buyouts of those MCNs — YouTube is no longer the independent platform it claims to be. It functions more like a traditional media conglomerate, except one that operates in total secrecy.
 
The Harm
1. Theft of Creator Channels and Revenue: Creators have had their channels hijacked into MCNs without consent, their watchtime stripped, engagement wiped, subscribers redirected to other channels, and in some cases — like mine — entire channels stolen outright. When creators attempt to report this to YouTube, they are met with automated AI loops, non-responsive support, and blanket denials. After two years of repeated requests with extensive documentation, my stolen channel has not been returned. There is no functioning recourse for an individual creator.

2. Sabotage of Independent Content:  MCN operators have the ability to interfere with a creator's content before it even reaches viewers. My livestreams were intercepted and altered — orientations changed, footage clipped, and specific statements removed — before being published to YouTube. This is not a glitch. This is deliberate manipulation of a creator's work by parties who should have no access to it.

3. Deception of Viewers: The MCN model relies fundamentally on deception. The average YouTube viewer believes the person they're watching is an independent creator speaking authentically. In reality, many channels operating under MCNs are effectively paid talking heads — handed scripts, boosted by sock puppet commenters, and presenting fabricated storylines designed purely for clicks and engagement. No MCN-affiliated channel discloses its corporate relationship to viewers. This is not just dishonest. Under existing FTC regulations, failure to disclose a material interest in sponsored or promoted content is a violation of federal law. Websites, Facebook advertisers, and political campaigns are all required to disclose. YouTube MCNs are ignoring legal requirements — and they should not be exempt.

4. Destruction of Platform Integrity: The manipulation of feeds, analytics, and discovery by MCN-controlled channels makes it nearly impossible for independent creators to reach audiences or even find each other to collaborate. Combined with the explosion of AI-generated content built on stolen material from real people, the platform has been so thoroughly compromised that genuine independent voices are being systematically buried.

 
Why This Matters Beyond YouTube

The Cambridge Analytica scandal triggered sweeping reforms across the online advertising industry. What is happening with YouTube MCNs is arguably worse — it is more widespread, more financially damaging to individuals, and more corrosive to public trust. It is systematic fraud operating without oversight, accountability, or transparency, facilitated and endorsed by the world's largest video platform.

 
Our Demands

We demand that lawmakers, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and YouTube's parent company Alphabet take the following actions:

1. Ban and dismantle the Multi-Channel Network system on YouTube. The MCN model has demonstrated that it serves primarily as a vehicle for theft, deception, and fraud. It should be abolished entirely.

2. If MCNs are not banned outright, mandate prominent disclosure. Every video and every channel operating under an MCN must display a clear, visible notice identifying the MCN, its parent company, and the responsible party — just as is required for Facebook ads, political advertising, and website analytics.

3. Establish a functional, accountable recourse process for creators. Creators who have had channels stolen, hijacked, or sabotaged must have access to a responsive, human-reviewed appeals process with binding timelines — not AI-generated loops and blanket denials.

4. Investigate MCN operations for FTC violations and fraud. Undisclosed corporate influence over supposedly independent content is a violation of existing consumer protection law. It must be enforced.

5. Implement independent third-party auditing of YouTube's reporting, analytics, and payment systems.

Google processes tens of billions of dollars annually in advertising revenue and creator payments — more than many financial institutions. Banks are required by law to undergo regular independent audits to ensure the accuracy and integrity of their financial reporting. Yet YouTube operates the largest video advertising system in the world with zero external oversight of its metrics, analytics, or creator payouts.

This is not a hypothetical concern. Google's own TrueView ad system was flagged in 2023 for potentially misleading advertisers and misallocating billions in ad spend — a scandal compared by industry analysts to Facebook's notorious metric inflation, which resulted in class-action litigation from over 2 million advertisers. Across the digital advertising industry, platforms have repeatedly been caught overstating views, inflating engagement, and charging advertisers for traffic that didn't exist.

Creators have no way to verify that the views, watchtime, and revenue YouTube reports to them are accurate. When analytics change retroactively — as they do — there is no independent record to compare against. An independent auditing requirement would protect advertisers, creators, and viewers alike from a system that currently operates on faith alone.

Any platform handling this volume of money must be subject to the same standard of financial accountability as any other institution. Audit. Period.

 
Sign This Petition If You Believe:

• Creators should own their own channels
• Viewers deserve to know who is really behind what they're watching
• The largest video platform in the world should not operate without oversight
• Silence and inaction are complicity

#BanYouTubeMCNs

Carla M. Alvarez
www.thealvarezes.com