In the ongoing debate about YouTube's hidden dislike counts, popular streamer HasanAbi has effectively debunked the narrative being posted by critics using the "Return YouTube Dislike" browser extension.
In response to accusations that his channel's "Content Deputy" video on the channel had a near 50/50 like-to-dislike ratio, Hasan presented verifiable analytics showing the video actually has an 86% like ratio, proving the extension is completely inaccurate.
Ever since YouTube eliminated public dislike counts, extensions like "Return YouTube Dislike" have stepped in to estimate them. However, as both users and developers have pointed out, these tools depend on extrapolation data from users who have installed the extension, indicating that the sample size is biased and not typical of all viewers. According to an X post, the H3 video in question had only 14.3% dislikes, contradicting the false narrative of a 60% dislike ratio promoted by detractors using the extension.
HasanAbi addressed the topic directly during his stream, displaying his own backend YouTube data to prove the 86% like ratio. He added that he would "keep it up" because it was sufficient to disprove the misinformation. While admitting that the discussion was difficult, he highlighted the importance of facts over online tales. This is consistent with broader community sentiment— many Reddit users commented that extension data is constantly misused to support personal biases rather than reflect reality.
One commenter stated, “100 percent of people using hidden dislikes to prove themselves right instead of using facts and logic don't care if it's accurate.” Another added, “The same people who believe it are the same people that caused dislikes to be hidden.”
The incident revived criticism of both YouTube's decision to hide dislikes and the unreliable tools created to compensate for it. While some users still find the extension a rough indicator, many are aware of its shortcomings.
As HasanAbi's case indicates, cherry-picking flawed data to build narratives hurts legitimate discourse, and creators are increasingly responding with actual measurements.