Why YouTubers are so mad at YouTube, again

LOS ANGELES -- PewDiePie is so mad at YouTube that he says he's calling it quits once he hits 50 million subscribers.

Why? The YouTuber, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, is among a handful of frustrated creators who claim they have seen their video views decline and their subscribers suddenly disappear. Some YouTubers even say they have lost 30 to 40 percent of their usual views.

The general theory is that YouTube has a new algorithm that has caused glitches. Although some in the internet community have come up with a conspiracy theory that YouTube boosts ads on the “trending” tab and videos with more likes and comments.

"It is really upsetting how [YouTube] did this change. They won't explain what happened properly to anyone," PewDiePie, who has just over 49 million subscribers, said in a video uploaded Friday. "It's not just me, a lot of YouTubers are noting this."

The Swedish gamer said the inexplicable changes feel like a "kick in the face."

YouTube said there is no glitch, and that sometimes subscriber counts change because of "spammed subscribers."

"Some creators have expressed concerns around a drop in their subscriber numbers," a YouTube spokesperson told Mashable in an email statement. "We've done an extensive review and found there have been no decreases in creators subscriber numbers beyond what normally happens when viewers either unsubscribe from a creator's channel or when YouTube removes spammed subscribers. We do the latter to ensure that all creator subscriber numbers are accurate."

The spokesperson referred to a video from July in which YouTube addresses why subscriber counts sometimes drop.

YouTube said fans can change a certain setting if they want to receive notifications about a channel’s every upload.

Still, PewDiePie -- who has made dramatic statements similar to this one in videos before -- seemed adamant there was something wrong.

“I will delete my channel once Pewdiepie hits 50 million,” he said in the video. "I think it’s gonna be pretty fun, I’m excited to delete my channel and start fresh with a new shitty channel probably. I won’t quit YouTube, I’ll just delete the channel.”

Maker Studios, which PewDiePie is part of, didn't immediately respond to Mashable's request for comment. PewDiePie currently has a little over 49 million subscribers.

PewDiePie's video comes a few days after Ethan Klein -- one half of the H3H3 Productions -- ignited a flurry of discussion over the issue.

Klein -- who along with partner Hila has 2 million subscribers across two channels -- posted a video titled "YouTube is Not Being Honest with Us."

In it, Klein shows tweets and YouTube comments from viewers who say they aren’t getting notified about new videos.

He argued that many creators are getting less views by a wide margin, and subscribers are randomly disappearing.

“This is people’s careers,” YouTube gamer JackSepticEye said in a similar video uploaded this week. “To completely switch how you do things and not tell anybody is a shitty thing to do.”

To figure out what's going on, some creators have even resorted to doing tests to see whether their videos are being delivered to subscribers.

And social experiments (below) like seeing if a video that is liked and commented on gets more video views than other videos.

UPDATE: On Wednesday, PewDiePie tweeted he is nearing 50 million. He has still been uploading videos. Maker Studios issued a press release Wednesday stating that PewDiePie Markiplier, JackSepticEye, KickthePJ, Cryaotic and more will live stream Friday and Saturday to raise money for RED. It's supposed to kick off on Friday on PewDiePie's channel.