YouTube glitch causes channels to lose tons of subscribers in minutes [Update]

Update 04:03 ET: It appears YouTube has finally fixed the bug. The subscriber counters seem to be back to normal and functioning properly. Some users have also confirmed their subscribers have been restored.

@Techistry We're (right now!) working on fixing this across all impacted channels, so others should start seeing correct numbers as well.

— Team YouTube (@TeamYouTube) February 9, 2017

YouTube has been affected by a massive glitch which is causing channels to lose huge chunks of subscribers in a matter of minutes.

Anytime someone unsubscribes from a channel, YouTube falsely detracts two subscribers from the account. This essentially allows trolls to repeatedly subscribe and unsubscribe from channels, causing massive drops in the total subscription count.

The 💜 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

The bug was first spotted by YouTuber BlackScreenTV who is currently livestreaming the diminishing counters of a number of popular channels, including star YouTuber PewDiePie.

Watch the livestream in the video section below. Be warned the video contains offensive language at the bottom.

BlackScreenTV has called the glitch the biggest in the website’s history. In fact, trolls are abusing the bug to the extent where some channels’ subscription counters have gone in the negatives.

The Alphabet subsidiary has confirmed the malfunction on its official Twitter account.

Yikes! Starting Monday, in some cases, we accidentally started counting two unsubs for the price of one. We’re working on a fix!

— Team YouTube (@TeamYouTube) February 8, 2017

The glitch first started attracting attention when PewDiePie, who is the most subscribed user on the website, broadcast a livestream of the bug. He also tweeted that every “unsub counts as -100.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2vIEcEPyv0

Since the news about the malfunction blew up, YouTube has assured concerned users the glitch only affects the number displayed on the subscription counter, which means no subscribers will be actually lost. The company is currently working towards a solution.

@akidearest Yes, it's only a bug w/ how sub count is displaying. No data is lost, and we're working to fix the numbers on impacted channels.

— Team YouTube (@TeamYouTube) February 9, 2017

@TTrillTThrill Hello. We’re aware of this and working on a solution. We’ll update everyone as soon as it’s fixed!

— Team YouTube (@TeamYouTube) February 9, 2017

Update 19:42 ET: As of now the bug still hasn’t been removed.

You can follow the subscription counters of channels in realtime on this website.

Update 20:22 ET: YouTube is yet to fix the error, but its tech support team assures the correct subscription counts will be restored.

@Seanisdabom It’s only an error w/ how the subscriber count is displaying. No data is lost, and the correct # will be restored.

— Team YouTube (@TeamYouTube) February 9, 2017