What Happened to Watchmojo? The Drama Surrounding the Content Company, Explained

"It is a machine so unwilling to quit that it will cannibalize itself and regenerate stronger."

Article continues below advertisement

Since YouTube has become saturated with similar content, many on social media argue that the company has struggled to maintain relevance. And after so much time creating videos, their topics have expanded into more esoteric topics like "Top 10 AI Generated Songs," and "Top 10 Cartoons Brought ot Live Action by AI."

After the YouTuber Voyan posted a video critiquing WatchMojo, the company responded and triggered a wave of backlash. Here's what happened.

Article continues below advertisement

Voyan talked about the way that, when YouTube was first created, people generally posted videos because they were passionate about something and just felt like sharing their talent or ideas with the world.

There was less pressure to "beat the algorithm" and get views. He said that he used to love WatchMojo, but his opinion changed when he realized that the company cared more about getting views than creating meaningful content.

Article continues below advertisement

Article continues below advertisement

Article continues below advertisement

WatchMojo's awkward defense begins with a typo: "The day no one talks you is the day you are irrelevant, so thank you." The commenter, who is presumably the owner and spokesperson, Ashkan Karbasfrooshan, goes on to say that he's never heard of Voyan's channel and didn't even see the video, but has points to get through.

He includes bullet points explaining that the company was ahead of the curve and inspired companies like Buzzfeed, Vox, and Vice.

Article continues below advertisement

Article continues below advertisement

WatchMojo ended their rant by saying, "Haters, envious, jealous people are fuel to our fire..." Needless to say, the company drew more negative attention to itself by being petty in the comment section than they would have if they had just ignored the video and let it roll off their back.

WatchMojo's comment got 2.9k likes and 842 comment replies. Voyan's video has almost 4,000 comments, most of which are criticizing or poking fun at WatchMojo's awkward self-defense.

Article continues below advertisement

@accurategamer7085 wrote, "Top 10 crashouts in history ... Number 1: WatchMojo." @lightclawwdum4163 wrote, "WatchMojo getting ratioed in the comment section was not on my bingo card."

@awh0len3wwrld posted a much more personal critique: "I used to work for WatchMojo. Their founder (who wrote the pinned comment) is a volatile, unhinged man who lacks vision and direction… he’s known to have poor reasoning, and nobody working for the company actually likes him." Yikes.