YouTube doesn’t want you to remember 2020. The Google subsidiary has announced it’s canceling 2020’s instalment of Rewind, its annual look back at the year’s most memorable moments. The decision marks the first time the company has decided to skip this ritual since its inception in 2010.
In a tweet, YouTube acknowledged that although there has been plenty of “good that did happen in 2020,” it ultimately doesn’t find it appropriate to wrap up the year with a new edition of Rewind. The unnamed culprit for this development, as we all can guess, likely is the coronavirus pandemic.
“Since 2010, we’ve ended the year with Rewind,” the company wrote. “But 2020 has been so different. And it doesn’t feel right to carry on as if it weren’t. So we’re taking a break from Rewind this year.”
There had already been speculation about the possibility of dropping Rewind this year among the platform’s creators, with Ethan and Hila Klein from H3H3Productions discussing the matter on a recent podcast.
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Needless to say, the decision has been met with mixed reactions. Some creators lauded YouTube for the support it’s shown them during these trialing times, while others criticized the company for not trying to find positivity in an otherwise tough year.
Regardless of its choice, though, YouTube was bound to get flak for Rewind — like it has every year in the past. Though, really, I doubt it could’ve been any worse than the notorious 2018 instalment, which still tops the charts as platform’s most disliked video ever.
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