The Problem with Linus Tech Tips: Accuracy, Ethics, & Responsibility 

This was a difficult video to make. We ask that you listen to our concerns, commentary, and statements with an open mind. We would not have made this video if we didn't view it as important and necessary. Thank you. Update: Linus has posted a response. Here it is and here are our comments (you'll need to watch this first video before though to have the context): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-X3byz3txpso.html

Linus' statement he is not willing to spend 500 dollars to not destroy someone's business is just disappointing.

This isn’t drama or an attack. This is peer review. It’s necessary and professional.

The Billet Labs bit wasn’t just upsetting, that was infuriating. They sold out what was probably a few people’s hopes/dream project.

I feel bad for Billet Labs especially... They should sue, then Linus might rethink that comment about not wanting to spend that $500 to properly test the product and then AUCTION IT OFF. GN always has my full respect for not being afraid of backlash or reprisal from any burnt bridges they make to reveal the truth to us all. Thank you for your constant great content.

Their treatment of billet labs is absolutely unbelievable. Not only does it disqualify them from being taken seriously as reviewers. But the fact that they would sell their prototype after agreeing to send it back after spitting in their face...... That's insane

The Billet Labs thing was vile. They didn't follow the instructions from BL, tested on a different card, and didn't contact BL before releasing the video. Then they publicly shamed BL for issues caused by LTT's own mistakes. And if that wasn't enough, they sold the prototype even though they agreed - twice - to return it. The whole "it was for charity" excuse makes it seem that they don't believe they can be held accountable for their actions.

I stopped watching LTT a long time ago based on what you've shown here and the personality deficits. The making of THIS video is long overdue! Thank You.

LTT was my first tech tips channel and was my go to for several years. Unfortunately, even I began to notice errors and inconsistencies, some of which I pointed out in comments. I recently unsubscribed from LTT and it's sister channels as I no longer trust their reviews. Thank you and your crew for the hard work and dedication to honest unbiased reviews.

"I'm not willing to spend money to correct mistakes" Mistakes cost money. You make a mistake, you should be willing to pay to correct it. If you can't afford it, do it right the first time. Some of these mistakes, I suspect, will eventually end in a lawsuit that they will try and crowd fund for.

The fact they sold a small company's best prototype just breaks my heart

I'll be honest, I don't know anything about tech, so half this stuff goes over my head. But I do have a degree in statistics. And their decision to retest the same things over and over again *and ignoring the past data* is absolutely insane. That's straight up just ASKING to make mistakes. It is a fundamental flaw in their *entire process* that'll basically doom them until they change it. It's no wonder they're always getting their numbers wrong. That's what happens when you test something too often and ignore *the vast majority of the data you've collected*. Someone needs to go in there and start slapping everyone in management.

My heart goes out to Billet Lab. Each of these points individually would have been bad enough. Misrepresenting the product because they used it on a part which it wasn't designed for. The audacity for a company of this size to not correct their wrong test results because "it's too expensive". So many disrespectful comments to a startup and their product which is still in active development. Even if they came to the same conclusion after doing the test correctly these comments would be very mean and frankly unacceptable. They, in all their glory and with their years of "technical knowledge" should be capable of constructive feedback. Nothing wrong with saying that in it's for a niche or enthusiast market and clarifying that it's still in the prototype stage. And then having the glorious idea to auction a prototype of a product that's in active development, without a single word to the owners. It's baffling how anyone came up with this. Even if they didn't need it back, the idea to sell actively developed prototypes is criminal. I hope Billet Labs doesn't get impacted too much over this. If I were Linus and this happened. (Only about the sold prototype) I would take every possible action to get the prototype back as fast as possible and return it back to BL together with a huge apology, and probably a hefty compensation for the unacceptable actions of my company. Plus the offer if they would like to make a new video where someone of their team comes over and demonstrate the product as intendiert. If they would even still be interested with working with LMG. Very good video and super important to show all of this. Thanks Steve and thank you Gamers Nexus team!

Linus' attitude for the guys who made this prototype watercooling system is just outrageous.

The stuff with Billet is actually so incredibly fucked up To have their prototype grossly misrepresented, slandered based on that misrepresentation and then to have their best prototype essentialy stolen and completely fucking up their R&D is honestly beyond words. LTT legitimately deserve to be sued for that

the asterisk key at LTT is the busiest member of their staff

4 months past, i didn't watch LTT since.

Insane that Linus admitted that a few hundred bucks kept them from doing a proper test

As a big LTT fan, the fact that they auctioned off the prototype water block that Billet labs very much needed AFTER they promised to send it back is despicable TBH. Absolutely zero excuse for doing that.

Demonetized a video that got over 5.4 million views. I am impressed.

The irony of LTT naming specific channels and then going "some people in the creator space didn't handle it very well," is certainly something.

2M + views in 24 hours is big. Steve solo writing, hosting, and editing so no one else on the team could be under fire is also exactly the type of move you want to see from a leader.

The Billet Labs story was devastating to hear especially as someone who knows first hand how giant companies stomp all over small startups trying to provide new innovative products. Linus’s casual dismissal of actually trying to properly test the product by saying “it’ll cost money” is the most asinine thing I ever heard.

It's amusing to me-I'm a 53-year-old who has been an avid RU-vid viewer since its early days. Despite being a small creator with minimal success (which isn't my main point), I find it curious that I've never encountered your videos on RU-vid. Videos from LTT always populate my homepage. While I'm subscribed to LTT, I haven't actively searched for their content. RU-vid simply suggests their videos, and I watch, like, and subscribe. Yet, why haven't they recommended your content? That's my first query. Moreover, after listening to your insights, I've realized that many creators are actually companies employing numerous moderators. Some of these moderators can be remarkably rude and unfair. I encountered a significant issue with a large creator/company where, if you comment something they disagree with, your comment gets deleted. That's fine, but they reported it as spam, prompting a severe warning from RU-vid. It felt disproportionate, as though I'd committed a serious offense. My comment wasn't against their content but simply expanded on a topic they mentioned. I'm still unsure what they disliked in my comment, yet it led to this unexpected reaction." Experiencing such events has made me fearful of commenting anywhere on RU-vid. It's disheartening that seven years of hard work as a small creator could be erased in an instant just because someone doesn't agree with something I've said. I've always maintained a respectful approach in my comments, simply adding information or pointing out something that might have been missed. Yet, I fear the repercussions. Thank you for this video; it echoes sentiments I've harbored for a long time regarding LTT. However, I feel powerless to voice my opinion against such a big creator, fearing RU-vid might silence me without allowing any defense. I genuinely appreciated your entire video and thank you for expressing what I've been feeling for so long.

Steve thank you for having the courage to do this, i know it's not easy. Stay strong my brother! I have bought GN merch all the way to Indonesia to support what you do!

This video is peer review at its best. No personal attack, only facts and the deep desire for everyone to be better - all for the consumer.

Steve and crew, I waited to watch this video until after finishing my creative for the day so I could go into it with a clear open mind. As someone who has made many many mistakes and honestly am working hard to limit them as much as possible have to say that I genuinely appreciated your attention to detail regarding examples and the insight not only from your perspective and expertise but the insight presented in various clips from LMG... but also your offering of advice on how to be a better reviewer overall. As someone who simply cannot provide the level of detail that you do it gives me something to constantly strive for. I sincerely hope that LMG doesnt take this as an attack but a real eye opener on a broader problem they may not be as evident from their end. As the Walmart Greeter to the tech world, Im glad you are managing the Service Department!

I ended up sinking money into a laptop they recommended and basically got a laptop that spends more time being broken and sent in under warranty to be fixed then actually used by me for anything other then trying to re-install applications before it breaks again.

You'd have to call this the video of the year.......no one has had a bigger impact on the tech community than this one video.......that helped raise the standard again.

I love how it’s always obvious when Luke realizes Linus is going off the rails.

The irony of Linus admitting he would like more time to make quality content, and then actively denying someone that exact thing when requested.

My time in the pc building social media space has been greatly improved since dropping LTT entirely when I watched this video when it came out Thanks again

Love the little cut out it's perfect 26:47

Selling the cooling block without consent and potentially giving it too their competitor all the while they sent it too you in the first place under good faith is such a deep cut. They just killed someone else's idea and potential lively hood because they couldn't be fucked giving a damn.

The Billet Labs situation is simply inexcusable. Like I can let a lot of other stuff slide, but they not only screwed up the testing and refused to acknowledge it, they illegally sold the prototype. And acted like total pricks on top of that. WTF is the deal?

It's like LTT/LMG have gone "The Verge" route...

What they did to Billet Labs was just disgraceful, and highlights to me there's a fundamental problem with how the company's run. I haven't watched any of their content since I found out about it. Watching this vid, well wow, I can't trust any of their reviews, so that was a good decision on my part. Thanks for getting this out there.

The fact that they not only kept but auctioned the prototype that they bashed is actually horrific.

The billet labs chain of events was infuriating to watch. Can't believe they were that irresponsible with a startup's prototype.

This video needs more views. The spread of inaccurate information needs to be addressed and stopped. Also the responses from LTT were disgusting

They used to be decent but I noticed the quality dipping around the time they started with the reaction image thumbnails. If a channel has to resort to gimmicks, it tends to mean their content alone isn't quality enough to draw attention.

A multimillion dollar company refusing to spend less than $1,000 to retest a product for accurate results is wild. The way he said it makes it sound like he thought it was completely ridiculous to spend a few hundred dollars to do things the right way.

I dont care if I've been a linus fan for a long time, accountability is important. thank you for bringing this to light.

I've binge watched LTT from time to time over the years and have found this video rings true with what I've suspected for some time. I have been watching LTT for a couple days after not watching him for several years and I commented to my 22y/o nerd son that his channel has changed and that I found his old material much more trustworthy; I had this conversation with him before watching any video commentary such as this. I even told my son that Linus is a grown man with a slightly post pubescent maturity level; nothing personal, it's just what I see in him. I guess pushing 60y/o gives one an experiential perspective, haha. Bravo to you for speaking the truth.

How the hell do you notice that your mouse is resisting movement too much and not immediately go to check weather there is something stuck to the bottom? There are no excuses for that, its just plain bad production quality, a 15 yo timmy that spent the previous 16 years of his life watching tiktoks and ruining his attention span would pay more attention to this

Its strange that they justify misinformation by saying "nobody should buy it anyway" like that's LTT's choice to make.

Imagine saying that a product is bad when you misuse it completely then selling it in an auction... insane.

Saw it coming. LTT was always about churning out tech "entertainment" videos super fast, not in depth analysis.

14:07 thank you for pointing this out. *im not the most technical guy out there, and this had me worried about my new 8gb video card because i didn't have "re-bar" or something

LTT can't spend hundreds to correct a video but Steve can make and release a video that's gonna get millions of views and not even monetize it in any way and get paid for his bold efforts. Truly exceptional.

The billet labs situation sounds like a massive lawsuit to me. A company loaning a proprietary prototype under assumption and assurance of getting said prototype back. And then finding out, after 2 separate promises to return it, that it has been sold off on auction to a potential competitor?? Might be multi million dollar lawsuit.

Very professional and informative video. Thank you for integrity and for taking the time to compile and present this in an objective way.

I would have liked to see Gamers Nexus try to recreate supposed downfalls of the items that were "unboxed" by LTT like the mouse or watercooler if possible.

The timing on this video is really interesting since Linus just talked about, on the LAN show, how content creators don't get held accountable for unethical behavior because their fan base enables them to live in their own little echo chamber.

Drama aside, I think it's important that competing reviewers hold each other accountable for the sake of the consumer.

The biggest problem is they’re always trying to sell you a 70 dollar screwdriver

the fact that billet lab did not sue ltt should let them know that they got off lucky

Holy crap the situation with Billet labs is insane. Horrifying how terribly Billet labs were treated hope things have turned around for them.

We can't antagonize videogame companies for releasing unfinished products (which we are justified to do) while accepting LMG releasing unfinished and known erroneous tests. Creators like GN have shown you can be ethical and thorough, we must demand better.

When Linus used on a video a free copy of OCCT. On same breath, "Ad blocking is piracy!"

The way Linus handled Billet Labs prototype is beyond fucked up.

Been watching LTT for about ten years. Went from learning to build my first PC from them to becoming a cpu design engineer at AMD. In the past year or so, I had felt like that content had started to go down hill, but couldn’t put my finger on what exactly. This video does a good job summing up information in the least inflammatory way.

LTT is the family guy of new tech / reviews on yt. People watch it but i hope nobody takes their advice as law.

i remember a friend way back directing me to linus for pc related insight and from a very early stage my response was that it seems very much uninformed and kinda cringy in respect to it being an acted video rather than a true technical video. Thanks tech jesus you and jay are the only two i truly trust

As a fan of LTT, this video was a real eye opener for me. Thank you for your effort in holding the industry and community accountable. The Billet Labs situation is heartbreaking, and I hope they will be able to obtain some legal help to combat this injustice. You’ve gained my respect and I’ll definitely be tuning into your content more often.

LTT doesn't feel like a RU-vid channel anymore, it's just a corporation now. And for journalistic integrity, having cooperate connections isn't an asset, it's a drawback.

I used to love LTT but after watching correction after correction come up as a simple "*" on screen, I began to realise that they aren't doing retakes. If you are looking for data and reading one set of points while they are saying another set of numbers makes it difficult when you think they are being accurate and diligent. Also, him not doing the billet labs test correctly or even trying to get it right while doubling down just makes me want to order a block from billet labs to support them since I trust them more then I do LMG now. There are countless examples why as you yourself pointed out quite excellently.

Couldn't spend $500 more for accuracy but drops $100k+ on compensator videos

The Billet Labs bit was absolutely outrageous. How on earth can Linus defend selling someone else's prototype despite agreeing twice they'd return it?!

*This is peer-review.* About time it made its way into the technical review world as well.

The problem is LTT has said several times that their business is entertainment. Accuracy is secondary.

I used to enjoy LTT, especially in its early days. However, like any growing company, as more people become involved, a variety of characteristics are introduced to the organization. Consequently, the quality of work becomes less predictable, and some aspects may be overlooked. With the expansion of LTT, there's a greater likelihood of dilution in the depth of expertise or consistency in their content. As a result, while their videos remain entertaining, I find it challenging to place complete reliance on their test results or recommendations. It seems that as LTT has grown into a larger content creator, the focus may have shifted from rigorous testing to producing engaging content for a broader audience. Moreover, I witnessed this firsthand when I started a company with another partner; some quality measures had to be let go to accommodate growth and diverse inputs. Thus, while I still enjoy their videos, I approach them more as entertainment rather than a definitive source for technical assessments.

This is a very much needed video to encourage Linus to face what he's been encouraging us to do for years. To call out companies for wrongdoing and misrepresentation.

Damn as a small business owner the waterblock part hit hard . I can’t imagine them seeing that video. They must of been so damn happy to get LTT to make a video and then they see what they did and never talked to them … wow.

Appreciate the time and courage taken to make this video. Actually was not all that familiar with you guys prior to this, but you've earned a sub. Really disappointed in LTT for all this.

First video of that guy i saw was him installing something improperly, therefore it worked improperly, and his conclusion was that he does not recommend it, because it does not work properly. Although it was all his fault from the begining, and he was not even hiding it. Couple of years later i saw him gaining 10million subs and i was like yo wtf how is possible that a pure lame guy becomes a "pro-tech guy" just by not stopping making videos. Since then i never trust any youtuber/influencer/orwhatever just because of his/its popularity.

MY heart sank when I heard that they auctioned off the prototype of the cooling block. A small company can die with mishaps that they had no control over and communicated several times that the protype needed to be sent back.

"I'm not going to apologize for not being willing to spend another $100... on an employees time" "We want to a reliable source!" Great job linus.

The one with the water block was the worst. That is being copied somewhere now.

Wow. I have made numerous decisions based on LTT but sadly no more. JTC hit the nail on the head. Stating that your company is worth $100 million and you aren't willing to spend an infinitesimal amount of money relative to that to do something PROPERLY is simply poor business.

I've noticed that over the last couple of years LTT seems to be moving further and further away from serious review and more and more toward being an entertainment channel. I get it. Entertainment is where the most money is but they're still purporting themselves to be a serious channel so it definitely has the potential to be problematic.

I never looked at LTT as more than infotainment, but I never paid close enough attention to see how bad they actually are. Kudos for bringing up such an important issue in tech journalism despite how uncomfortable it must have been to do.

I could listen to you for hours. It helps that I learn something every time, but you got a good voice for this.

too bad such things are already forgotten in two weeks

No words can describe the anger and disapoinment I felt when hearing about Billet Labs' waterblock. I can't begin to imagine how those guys felt..

The segment where they have AUCTIONED the one-of-a-kind Billet Labs prototype block makes my blood boil. I can understand them forgetting it in their warehouse, but the fact that they SOLD IT AT THEIR CONVENTION is absolutely inexcusable. It's really fucking sad to see what Linus and his company did to a small startup just trying to bring a niche product to market.

I liked Linus’s content from around 2015, when it was just him and his buddies driving around Vancouver building PCs from cheap parts they scrounged.

As not super tech person, I will never build my own pc. Some of nexus stuff goes over my head. So i sometimes watch other people. But nexus always summeries and trys to make it clear on what the average person should steer towards and trust the graphs that nexus puts up. Appreciate you guys, steering clear of ltt forever.

The way this video has blown up in just 24 hours tells me this is something the community felt / was aware of in varying degrees but couldn't quantify. You've laid it all out here. Thank you.

My biggest issue with Linus is his refusal to accept criticism. He will certainly talk about this on the WAN show. He will also certainly say something along the lines of "I get what Gamer Nexus is trying to say, BUT." He'll then discredit the video and take zero ownership.

Sólo puedo decir que Steve es un ejemplo a seguir. Si esta actitud, detalle en la crítica, buena y positiva argumentación fuera mucho más habitual por parte de todo el mundo que se expone públicamente, evolucionaríamos mucho más rápido y de forma mucho más sana. La crítica bien hecha es la mejor gasolina para superarte. I can only say that Steve is an example to follow. If this attitude, detail in criticism, good and positive argumentation were much more common on the part of everyone who exposes themselves publicly, we would evolve much faster and in a much healthier way. Criticism done well is the best fuel for self-improvement.

I honestly come to GN for in-depth analysis. This is probably the only channel that goes into a deep dive on all products they review. Thank you GN for everything.

As a huge LTT fan. This video was sorely needed and professionally brought attention to stuff i didnt even notice. Ive felt something has been off with ltt but paid no mind. Stellar video.

The Billet Labs story was heartbreaking. Linus has essentially ended a small start up because of his hubris and lack of responsibility.

Thank you for the information. The days of LTT trying to put out quality information and videos are basically over. Sad days we live in. Hope your company never goes through this.

Billet should sue LTT for the auction. That was proprietary tech which could have been without patent protection. What a pile of crap.

So a small two man company gave LTT their best prototype for review, LTT installs it on the wrong video card, then proceed to trash the company and product for it not working right when it's LTT's own fault. Then LTT auction off the prototype so rival companies can steal the tiny company's intellectual property even after they asked for it back? Wow! That's the scummiest thing LTT could have possibly done. How is that even legal? I feel bad for those guys. I guess LTT knew the small company probably couldn't even afford to take legal action so no skin off their back! That really is infuriating.

The odd thing about them raffling off the Billet Labs prototype is in the latest WAN show, Linus was complaining about someone giving out their prototype LMG backpack as he said it's a "misrepresentation of the product" and can damage their brand if someone who gets that prototype thinks it's the actual product. lmao

The pompous facial expressions while defending their bs perfectly displays their attitude towards criticism and clearly show how full of themselves they have become.

Just hearing about the Billet Labs situation and I'm heated. That's so wrong and unprofessional of LMG. I can't imagine how the guys at Billet Labs felt having to deal with that. Damn...