Haters. Trolls. Locals. Call them what you like, but internet cynists are some of the most powerful and united users on the world wide web. These enemies of the content creator have the power to make or break any popular curator right at their fingertips and from the comfort of their gamer chairs. Although the comments section remains a hater’s home turf on any given social media website, YouTube is one of the few platforms that offers a negative reaction option with its “dislike” feature on videos—and people do not hesitate to use it. At over one billion users, YouTube houses almost one third of the internet which, according to our calculations, leaves a lot of room for trolls to do their dirty work.
Contrary to the pure, old fashioned clips of future’s past that remind us why YouTube is just downright fun are the uploads that objectively deserve to be disliked. Often characterized for their controversial subject matter, you’d think videos flagged and dragged by every internet user under the sun would fall victim to the unrelenting grasp of the dislike button. Included in this category would be the #Elsagate videos that Forbes called “poison disguised as children’s entertainment”, every video uploaded by the malicious prankster Sam Pepper, and Rick Astley’s music video for “Never Gonna Give You Up” (just to be cautious).
But alas, many of the videos on YouTube that should be labeled “B” for “Bacterial” seem to slip through the cracks when it comes to dislikes. With one billion hours of videos watched daily, it’s unsurprising that some of the most disliked uploads on our favorite video-sharing website are also some of the most popular, because of the aforementioned power of internet trolls. Ranging from music videos for absolute bops to an episode of a Russian animated TV series, here are the most disliked videos on YouTube. We thank them for their service.
15. “Johny Johny Yes Papa” (LooLoo Kids)
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Upload date: Oct. 8, 2016
Dislikes: 1.7 million
This one should come as no surprise to anyone who's been on Twitter in the last six months. Though YouTube claims to be cracking down on the disturbing content on the site labeled as “for children”, videos like “Johny Johny Yes Papa”, which isn't exactly offensive but is definitely uncomfortable, continues to live on. In YouTube's defense, though, it does kind of slap.
14. “POKEMON GO SONG!!! by MISHA (FOR KIDS) [ORIGINAL]” (Misha/Mishovy Silenosti)
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Upload date: July 16, 2016
Dislikes: 1.5 million
Undoubtedly, this very young boy didn’t upload his one-minute-long anthem about playing Pokémon Go every day with the intention of upsetting 1.5 million strangers on the internet. Though the title explicitly states that the song is meant for kids, it most likely garnered attention from the mass of adults who took part in the Pokémon Go sensation in 2016 and was reprimanded for its simple lyrics. But with comments being disabled on the video, users seem to have turned to the dislike feature to take out their frustration.
13. “YouTube Rewind: The Shape of 2017 | #YouTubeRewind” (YouTube Spotlight)
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Upload date: Dec. 6, 2017
Dislikes: 1.8 million
You know the what they say: “Eighth time’s the charm!” The YouTube Rewind series has become a staple recap since its start in 2010, but 2017’s release seems to have disappointed more users than usual. The compilation moves at Mach Five speed, making it hard to focus on the number of obscure trends referenced and unrecognizable YouTubers included in the video. But it’s safe to say the over-the-top music remix and less-than praiseworthy tribute to victims of tragedy were also factors in this video’s demise.
12. “Sweatshirt (Official Music Video)” (Jacob Sartorius)
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Upload date: June 7, 2016
Dislikes: 1.9 million
Kids can be mean, but adults on the internet can be meaner. Teenage social media star Jacob Sartorius found this out the hard way when he dropped the video for his song “Sweatshirt.” For every 13-year-old girl that loved watching his disembodied hoodie crawl around on the floor, there were two 17-22 year old men there to mock his boyish features and the fact that he gained popularity through a lip-syncing app. Haters must have turned it off before seeing the sweatshirt break dance, otherwise it would certainly be on the list of the most liked videos on YouTube.
11. “GANGNAM STYLE(강남스타일) M/V” (officialpsy)
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Upload date: July 15, 2012
Dislikes: 2 million
2012 was a simpler time. “Gangnam Style” is probably one of the most notable pop culture crazes of the decade, but people who hate dancing and fun music videos stepped in to knock K-Pop star Psy off his pedestal. This sacred relic of YouTube was the site’s first video to hit one billion views and captivated a worldwide audience, turning it into an unavoidable phenomenon. However, it took the limelight away from Carly Rae Jepsen’s smash hit “Call Me Maybe,” so it got what it deserved by being on this list.
10. “So Sorry.” (Logan Paul Vlogs)
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Upload date: Jan. 2, 2018
Dislikes: 2.1 million
Arguably the most worthy of being in the top ten is this haunting apology video from surf-haired vlogger Logan Paul. After coming under fire for posting footage of an apparent suicide victim in Japan’s Aokigahara forest, Paul tried reconciling with an emotionally vulnerable video in which he apologizes and asks his fans not to defend his actions. In return, all the 22-year-old got was 88,000 subscribers, monetization reinstated on his videos, and the ninth most disliked video on YouTube. Poor kid.
9. “Masha and The Bear - Recipe for disaster (Episode 17)” (Get Movies)
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Upload date: Jan. 31, 2012
Dislikes: 1.8 million
If Papa Bear somehow got stuck taking care of Goldilocks, it would have resulted in this very odd little kid series. Though there’s nothing exceedingly annoying about this silly pairing, there is something chilling about the pseudo-realistic animation. Odds are that most of these dislikes are parents who find catharsis in giving a thumbs down to the video their toddler plays at full blast in the backseat every morning.
8. “‹ CORTANDO O BOTÃO DO YOUTUBE ›” (Aruan Felix)
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Upload date: Dec. 22, 2015
Dislikes: 2.4 million
This video may be in Portuguese, but it’s pretty easy to figure out why it has 2.4 millions dislikes. After receiving one of the famous congratulatory plaques from YouTube for reaching 100,000 subscribers, Brazilian YouTuber Aruan Felix smashes the glass frame, removes the silver award, and tries sawing it in half with a hand saw. When this doesn’t work, for reasons that even science can’t explain, Felix shows the metal token of appreciation being cut in half with an electric saw. Controversial, yet brave; just what we like to see in our YouTube idols.
7. “How it is ( wap bap… ) [Official Video]” (BibiisBeautyPalace)
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Upload date: May 5, 2017
Dislikes: 2.7 million
A prime example of what happens when a beauty and fashion YouTuber thinks they have what it takes to start a singing career, Bibi H’s song “How it is (wap bap…)” is...something. While we’re used to seeing young people get taken down by internet trolls for simply being young people, Bibi seems to have been taken down for writing incomprehensible lyrics over what appears to be a free-use instrumental track that one might use as background music in any standard vlog. The video ends with her climbing a ladder into the sky, which makes just about as much sense as the rest of the video.
6. “Friday” (rebecca)
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Upload date: Sept. 16, 2011
Dislikes: 3.1 million
It may be the best day of the week, but “Friday” by Rebecca Black is far from the best Friday content (see: the 1995 film starring Ice Cube and Chris Tucker). The 14-year-old’s single went viral in 2011 for what Time Magazine called a “train wreck” of a music video that subsequently became the source of a number of equally popular parodies, including a comedy dub by Brock Baker.
5. “Despacito” (LuisFonsiVEVO)
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Upload date: Jan. 12, 2017
Dislikes: 3 million
First thing’s first: this is disrespectful. While it’s expected that the most viewed video on YouTube will have a high number of dislikes, it’s still unsettling that the video for a Grammy-nominated single would be disliked by three million people. Justin Bieber’s remix helped make “Despacito” the most streamed song of all time (and the first primarily Spanish-language song to be #1 since “Macarena”), but his feature likely also made people hate the song more. However, the video doesn’t feature Bieber, so all apologies for disliking it can be directed towards Puerto Rican director Carlos Pérez.
4. “Can this video get 1 million dislikes?” (PewDiePie)
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Upload date: Dec. 24, 2016
Dislikes: 3.3 million
This one feels like a cop out. It’s pretty unfair that every other upload on the list rightfully earned its dislikes while this five-minute ploy by one of the most famous YouTube creators of all time is literally asking viewers to give it a thumbs down. Lest we forget that PewDiePie, in his heart of hearts, is a gamer who loves making money (and has proven to be very problematic). He also once held the belt for having the most subscribers on the site, so asking a mere one million of his 61 million subscribers to dislike a video of him screaming, begging for negative reactions is underwhelming. Yawn.
3. “Official Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Reveal Trailer” (Call of Duty)
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Upload date: May 2, 2016
Dislikes: 3.6 million
This one needs a bit of unpacking. An unexpected runner-up on the list is the reveal trailer for the 2016 installment of popular first-person shooter game series Call of Duty. The trailer for Infinite Warfare received negative feedback from gaming communities as it unearthed the game’s futuristic setting, ultimately disappointing fans of the franchise. A combination of subpar editing, astronaut soldiers flying spaceships, and an unimpressive David Bowie cover only added to this CoD release becoming the most disliked gaming-related video on YouTube, and the second most disliked video on the website.
2. “It’s Everyday Bro (Song) feat. Team 10 (Official Music Video)” (Jake Paul)
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Upload date: May 30, 2017
Dislikes: 3.5 million
Though the baby Paul bro has less subscribers than his older clone, the video for his, uh, “rap” song “It’s Everyday Bro” flaunts his wealth and success as a result of his Vine-turned-YouTube career. It may not be the worst song ever written, but his friends are not the best dancers, and being one-half of a notoriously disliked sibling duo makes him a logical target for 3.5 million haters.
1. “Baby” (Justin Bieber)
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Upload date: Feb. 19, 2010
Dislikes: 8.8 million
Oh, baby. Released in January of 2010, Justin Bieber’s lead single from his debut album My World 2.0 is a certified banger. Bieber’s rise to the top started at the ripe age of 15, and made him the subject of mockery from internet users despite the fact that he was a product of YouTube stardom. Though the song was a top ten hit, critics often cite his frequent bad behavior as a prime example of what made him the proprietor of YouTube’s most disliked video, even eight years after its initial release.
