Hey all — huge thanks to the mod team for letting me post this.
I'm Ian. I run Ian Ilano TV, a YouTube channel I created (after crying to Edgerunners) dedicated entirely to in-depth Cyberpunk lore. I've been at it for almost three years now. Over 300K cumulative followers and 350 millions views on YouTube alone.
Last night, my channel was demonetized and deactivated as part of YouTube's ongoing AI banwave. I'm told it was flagged for "inauthentic content."
Here's the thing: my content is the opposite of "inauthentic."
I own almost every sourcebook from Cyberpunk 2020. Thanks to the amazing R. Talsorian Team and other creators who've sent me books they don't need anymore. I've even compiled LORESHEETS from hundreds of in-game data shards, terminal emails, and conversations that I've extracted BY HAND. I keep track of my 500+ videos in a comprehensive Google Sheet. And I narrate, record, and edit nearly 3TB of Cyberpunk B-Roll footage that I've filmed myself.
I even write my own scripts. Besides some AI help with idea generation (analysing my Google Sheets to build my own Sprout Social alternative), there is ZERO AI in my pipeline beyond the initial idea audit. I have notes on certain hooks and styles that have worked well in the past, but everything I own is my own.
Why am I writing this?
Well, I work directly with R. Talsorian Games on lore accuracy. I even brainstorm with other creators who've already vouched for me. It seems I've been caught in a banwave that's hit other communities as well. I've been in touch with The Rememberancer (very appreciate of them for helping me keep a level head) — and some other big Warhammer 40K creators who got hit with this same issue back in December.
It seems community visibility was a huge part in how they got their channels restored.
If YouTube's automated systems can't tell the different between a faceless "AI Slop" channel and a creator who's genuinely passionate about the lore from tabletop to video game, then every original lore creator in our community is at risk.
I'm not asking you to go to bat for me. Blindly. I'm just asking for visibility.
If this post resonates with you, an upvote or a share would go a damn long way.
And if you've experienced something similar or know of other creators who have, I'd love to hear about it in the comments. I'm building a paper trail of legitimate creators caught in this net, and I think it's worth a longer IRL Cyberpunk comparison one day. I'm feeling proper Johnny Silverhand and channeling that BURN CORPO SHIT energy bringing this issue to light.
Thanks for reading, chooms.
Ian