I don’t understand why this is a thing? Who wants to watch someone nod their head to someone else’s content?

Just show the original video! How did this get popular and what is wrong with those that helped it to happen?

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[–] 47 points 10 months ago (16 children)

It's a way of stealing someone else's content and for some reason YouTube allows it. I close that slop immediately.

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  • [–] 3 points 10 months ago

    Not always. I've seen clips of reaction videos where people are shown older media that's typically unfamiliar to young people. In that case, it's a way to reassure older people of the continued appeal of the pop culture of their youth. Something like a modern high schooler listening to Led Zeppelin for the first time.

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  • [–] 4 points 10 months ago (7 children)

    There’s a clause in most countries’ copyright laws that allow you to use material for the purposes of “commentary”.

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  • [–] 4 points 10 months ago (6 children)

    Pretty sure pasting your face over it doesn't count though, surely? Otherwise I have a new piracy idea

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  • [–] 3 points 10 months ago (4 children)

    Otherwise I have a new piracy idea

    New in what sense? It's literally what they're already doing.

    The problem from a legal standpoint is that the rules on what qualifies as commentary are fuzzy enough that you have to actually go to court for a decision, which nobody likes doing. Even the copyright holders are slightly wary of it, on account of the longer-term implications if they lose and set an unfortunate precedent.

    https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/reaction-videos-and-copyright-law-best-9687112/

    Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc. A YouTube show used viral clips from Jukin Media's library while adding comedic commentary. The court found that some segments were transformative and fair use, while others were not. The decision emphasized that each clip must be analyzed individually based on its purpose and editing.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    Well it seems like currently they are just pirating content from small creators that don't have legal teams to defend themselves. If its actually ok do it with Disney.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago* (2 children)

    What if it’s a political reaction by “the other side”? Where I’ve noticed it is political commentary where they’re holding someone up for ridicule, but they don’t add anything of value other than showing it to a different audience in a different context.

    That small creator would never have been viewed by that audience and will not lose any of their core views by virtue of additional audience. They don’t get clicks but I suppose it increases name recognition

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago (1 child)

    Isn't political reaction content just pushing hate?

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago*

    Sometimes. But sometimes you might consider it fact-checking or parody, especially based on whether you agree.

    I think that’s arguable but the fundamental point here is what value is being added? I guess I posted partly in response to the point about small content creators where this is an all too common occurrence that probably does no real harm…. Or at least the main issue is NOT pirating content from someone who can’t afford to defund themselves

    I find them annoying even when I agree with them because reaction videos with no actual commentary added are just wrong

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  • [–] 5 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    Do you count debunking videos as stealing, because I don't. Some of the best videos is people debunking misinformation posted by assholes like Rogan.

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  • [–] 4 points 10 months ago

    Maybe, if they are not just playing the entire video end to end and barely talking over it.

    If you are taking 5 minutes of their video and turn it into an hour of review/criticism, sure that seems fair.

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