YouTube's Most Disturbing Fandoms

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:02]One fan unleashed a computer virus to thousands of people and gave them one way out to subscribe to his favorite YouTuber. Another female YouTuber got death threats for having a boyfriend.

[00:00:13]These aren't trolls. These are real fans who would do anything for their favorite YouTubers, even if it means going to prison. So, to clarify, this video is not about every fan in these YouTube communities, nor is it always the fault of the YouTuber. It's about specific parts of these fandoms that take things too far. Hope you guys enjoyed the video and make sure you guys subscribe and I will do my very best for you on Visual Venture and you are awesome.

[00:00:35]The fans who couldn't be controlled.

[00:00:38]Not everyone has heard of the H3 podcast, but if you end up on their bad side, you'll discover what their fan base is capable of. Each week, the show covers the latest influencer fights and scandals. But they do more than report.

[00:00:49]They comment, judge, and sometimes flat out insult people. But the real problem is not what gets said on the show. It's what happens afterward. The rest of the podcast is even in Klein, like pointing to people who he wants his audience to harass and doxing random people.

[00:01:02]>> The moment the show calls someone out, the H3 fan base moves like a mob. They hunt that person down online and attack.

[00:01:09]And because there's always a new controversy, there's always a new target. The cycle never stops. But one day, the fans did something so reckless, it shocked even the producers. In November 2022, a streamer named Amaranth became a major topic online. During a live stream, she revealed that her marriage was falling apart. She also accused her husband of treating her badly. The news circulated online and reached the H3 podcast. The host sat down to discuss it and their audience was hooked. That guy would could be so like unappreciative and ungrateful of of having her as his wife.

[00:01:40]>> Audience was furious on Amaran's behalf.

[00:01:43]More importantly, they wanted to know who Amaran's toxic husband was. One of the H3 producers claimed she knew his identity.

[00:01:50]>> He's a music producer and songwriter.

[00:01:52]Yeah, >> but I hope that man's life is ruined for this.

[00:01:55]>> I hope so, too.

[00:01:55]>> I hope she divorces ass and he gets nothing.

[00:01:58]>> The producer then said a name on air.

[00:02:00]Nick Lee.

[00:02:01]>> Give me his name.

[00:02:02]>> Nick Lee.

[00:02:03]>> Yeah, I don't give a I want this guy's life run. Are you kidding me?

[00:02:06]>> They even thought about showing his social media handle on screen. At the last moment, they paused.

[00:02:10]>> Nick Lee. That is not a unique name whatsoever. So, I just want to be very sure that we're not sending a mob of people after the wrong Nick Lee.

[00:02:19]>> But the viewers weren't waiting for confirmation. They found a music producer named Nick Lee on social media.

[00:02:24]Then they shared his profile in the live chat. The producers tried to stop them.

[00:02:28]>> The people that are in sharing that account, I'm actually timing you out.

[00:02:31]That is literally a doc's account that you're sharing in our chat right now.

[00:02:34]So, please stop spamming that.

[00:02:36]>> But the warning came too late. The mob already locked onto a target. And once that happens, there's almost nothing anyone can do to stop it. Within minutes of his name being mentioned, Nick Le's life was in danger. His Instagram and Twitter blew up with messages. Hundreds of strangers accused him of horrible things. Some threatened to end his career. Others sent messages that were far, far worse. There was just one problem. The Nick Lee being attacked was not Amaran's husband. He was a random music producer who shared the same name.

[00:03:03]The H3 podcast producers soon realized what was happening.

[00:03:06]>> As I predicted, our fans are harassing the wrong person.

[00:03:10]>> But but and that's why I was saying, I know you were saying don't do it, but the idiots in our audience are always going to end up doing it. Eventually, the producer who named him apologized.

[00:03:18]>> It was It was definitely me. A Reddit thread led me to the wrong place, and I should not have said his profession when I didn't know for sure.

[00:03:26]>> Once fans realized the error, the attack stopped. Some even posted apologies to the innocent Nick Lee. The H3 podcast played a role in triggering that situation, and it was not an isolated case. The same thing happened with other people on other episodes. He stated my real name no less than 17 times and also showed on the screen a few dozen more times. Each time the pattern repeats, a name is mentioned, the fans react like a mob, and the person's life on the other end is now in danger. Our next chapter is about a group of fans who found out where their favorite YouTuber lived and used it against them. The fans who couldn't accept reality.

[00:04:06]Being a VTuber sounds like a dream job until fans turn on you. VTubers or virtual YouTubers are real people who stream as cartoon avatars. Their real identities are kept secret.

[00:04:18]>> I'm so excited. I'm so excited. Okay, I'm so excited. I feel so alive right now.

[00:04:23]>> Most fans see it for what it is, just entertainment. But for others, the line between fantasy and reality disappears.

[00:04:29]They don't see a cartoon character on a screen. They start to believe the VTuber is a real person in their life. Some fans even convince themselves that the VTuber is their virtual girlfriend. That level of attachment can be dangerous.

[00:04:42]When something shatters that fantasy, those fans don't just get sad, they become furious. In the worst cases, they go after the real person behind the avatar. That's exactly what happened to Mono Alay. Mono Aloway began streaming as a VTuber in August 2020. During her first stream, she gained 100,000 subscribers. Her career was off to an incredible start, but within days it all came crashing down. Mano Aloise's fans discovered her real identity, and it was all because of a mistake she made months before her debut. Months earlier, Aloay tested her digital avatar on a personal account. She was supposed to delete the stream afterward, but she never did.

[00:05:20]Fans eventually found that old account.

[00:05:22]It was linked to all of her personal social media profiles. Just like that, the person behind the Mano Aloay avatar was exposed. In the VTuber world, the fantasy is everything. Breaking it is a big deal. Since they knew who she was, fans reviewed her social media history.

[00:05:37]They didn't like what they saw. Some posts were considered inappropriate.

[00:05:40]There were also posts suggesting she had a boyfriend. To some of her fans, that felt like a deeper betrayal, and they went after her. They found numbers from Mano Aloway and her suspected boyfriend.

[00:05:51]Then they called non-stop day and night.

[00:05:54]Aloay's agency finally got involved. But instead of defending her, they asked her to apologize. She did.

[00:06:06]In the same video, she asked fans to stop the harassment, doxing, and bullying.

[00:06:17]She also revealed her agency was suspending her for two weeks. She probably hoped things would settle down.

[00:06:22]It didn't. Barely a week later, another video surfaced from Aloise's old account. It showed her criticizing the VTuber industry.

[00:06:35]She also made offensive comments about other VTubers. The fans were furious.

[00:06:39]They felt she was being disloyal and ungrateful. Many demanded she be fired immediately. By that point, Mano Aloway had enough. Two weeks of online attacks were too much for her. On August 31st, 2020, she quit Vtubing for good. In a statement, she said she was not physically or mentally prepared to continue with her activities. Mano Alaway came into Vtubing with a dream.

[00:07:00]Instead, she was pushed out by fans who had zero tolerance for mistakes. Our next chapter is about a group of fans whose loyalty to a creator eventually led to a realworld tragedy.

[00:07:12]The fans who hacked the world.

[00:07:14]This is a story about fans who broke the law to get subscribers for a YouTube channel. But this was no ordinary crime.

[00:07:21]They used cyber terrorism tactics. For years, PewDiePie had the most subscribers on YouTube. But in late 2018, a channel called T-Series started closing the gap.

[00:07:30]>> Who is this T-Series channel? Uh, this channel will pay PewDiePie. I'M NUMBER ONE. I'M NUMBER ONE.

[00:07:38]>> SO, we've covered the situation multiple times in the past, but this one is different. The rivalry is not the main focus here. What matters is how PewDiePie's fans reacted. His fans launched a campaign to keep PewDiePie at number one. Most fans made videos and posts asking others to subscribe. But some extreme fans felt that wasn't enough. Instead of asking, they wanted to force people to subscribe. In 2018, a hacker calling himself Hacker Giraffe logged onto a site called Showdown.

[00:08:05]Showdan is basically a search engine, but instead of finding websites, it finds vulnerable devices connected to the internet. that includes printers, cameras, and smart TVs with no password protection. Hacker Giraffe found about 800,000 unsecured printers worldwide. He selected 50,000 of them as targets. Then he hacked into all of them at once.

[00:08:25]After gaining access, he made every printer produce a poster. People around the world were stunned as their printers suddenly came to life.

[00:08:33]>> What part of the message read? PewDiePie is in trouble and he needs your help to defeat T-Series. Subscribe to PewDiePie.

[00:08:40]The internet reacted immediately.

[00:08:41]Thousands posted about it on social media. One tweet read, "So this just randomly printed on one of our work printers. I think PewDiePie has hacked our systems." Others made videos reacting to it.

[00:08:52]>> They hacked a series of printers to print out sheets telling people to subscribe to PewDiePie. Again, amazing.

[00:08:58]>> Even PewDiePie found it amusing, but he was careful with his response. That's what I need. That's what I'm talking about. All this support to keep me on top is so funny. Just don't do anything illegal. But hacker giraffe wasn't finished. He and his allies hacked into 65,000 smart TVs around the world.

[00:09:14]Suddenly, the same message appeared on TV screens inside people's homes.

[00:09:19]PewDiePie, the number one most subscribed channel on YouTube, is about to be overthrown by Indian music company T-Series. Please go to YouTube and subscribe to him ASAP.

[00:09:28]>> They also targeted the Wall Street Journal. To many PewDiePie fans, the Wall Street Journal was the enemy because they published stories criticizing PewDiePie in the past. They hacked the Wall Street Journal website and left this message. The Wall Street Journal would like to apologize to PewDiePie. Due to misrepresentation by our journalists, those of whom have now been fired, we are sponsoring PewDiePie to reach maximum subscribers and beat T-Series to 80 million. The crime spree made headlines. The hackers were blamed for causing chaos, but hacker Giraffe argued he was doing people a favor. He claimed he was exposing how weak their security really was and the bad hackers could have stolen files, installed malware, and caused physical damage. He claimed it was a warning. Other hackers soon followed his footsteps. A few months later, a computer virus called Pew Crypt appeared online. It was created by another PewDiePie fan. When Pew Crypt infected a computer, it locked every file on the device. Photos, documents, and videos became completely inaccessible. Usually, ransomware hackers demand money. This one demanded something else. The ransom message said that if PewDiePie reached 100 million subscribers before T-Series, the files would be unlocked. If not, the files would be deleted forever. To save their files, everyone needed to subscribe to PewDiePie. Security experts confirmed the virus was real. At the time, there were no tools capable of cracking it.

[00:10:49]Infected users could only wait and hope.

[00:10:52]Eventually, programmers created a decryption tool for the virus, and the files were unlocked. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. However, the situation was about to get much worse. In March 2019, a violent incident occurred at a public place in New Zealand. Before it happened, the culprit looked into a camera and said, "Subscribe to PewDiePie." Multiple lives were lost.

[00:11:12]Now, I want to clarify that he was most likely not a real fan, just a terrible individual. When PewDiePie heard it, he was horrified. He tweeted that he was absolutely sickened by having his name linked to the incident. Days later, he asked his fans to end the campaign. This was all made to be fun, but it's clearly not fun anymore. It's clearly gone too far.

[00:11:31]>> What started as fans rallying behind a creator turned into hacking, ransomware, and a realworld tragedy. The person in our next chapter received death threats against their family and their animals.

[00:11:42]And the police couldn't stop it. The fans who defended everything.

[00:11:49]Colleen Ballinger, also known as Miranda Sings, didn't just have subscribers. She had a cult-like following with millions of fans. Her channel had 10.7 million subscribers. Most of them were teenagers who idolized her.

[00:12:02]>> Today, I'm going to be trying lots of different Asian snacks. Um, someone sent me all these. I don't know where they're from.

[00:12:07]>> The fan base even had a name, the Murf Fandas. But in 2020, her familyfriendly image was challenged. The teenage fan accused her of inappropriate behavior.

[00:12:16]His name was Adam McIntyre, and he posted a YouTube video explaining his experience. Adam showed the text messages and personal items Colleen sent him.

[00:12:24]>> This was what I was sent. I don't even know. Sorry. I don't know how to which way this goes. This is what I was sent.

[00:12:32]Okay. Many viewers believed him based on the evidence, but Colleen's fans did not. To them, Adam was not a victim. He was just someone trying to take down their favorite creator. So, they decided to silence him. Adam was a well-known member of Colleen's fan base. He was active in group chats and fan spaces. He had real friends within the community.

[00:12:50]The moment he spoke out, he was dropped from those groups. Friends he trusted cut him off overnight. Then the attack started. Colleen's fans dug through everything Adam ever posted online. They wanted anything to discredit him. Some created long threads trying to debunk his claims. The pressure kept building.

[00:13:06]It got so bad that Adam disabled comments on his YouTube video. So, Colleen's fans moved to Twitter. Every day, Adam received insults and threats.

[00:13:14]Adam fought back the only way he could.

[00:13:16]He posted follow-up videos, shared more screenshots, and explained his side.

[00:13:20]>> People were saying that after she posted her video addressing everything that I was a liar because she came out and addressed everything, but she just didn't deny anything. But speaking out made things worse. The more he explained the more he was attacked. This was no longer about defending Colleen. It became about destroying Adam's life. By the end of 2020, it seemed like the fandom silenced him. But the situation was not over. It turned out Adam wasn't alone. More fans came forward accusing Colleen of behaving inappropriately with them. Because of Colleen's popularity, the story spread fast. Rolling Stone covered it. Other YouTubers made videos about it. It even made it to the news.

[00:13:57]>> Colleen Ballinger, who's better known as her online persona, Miranda Sings, is facing significant backlash. She's been accused of having inappropriate relationships with some of her underage fans.

[00:14:08]>> Colleen's reputation began to collapse.

[00:14:10]But her most loyal fans refused to change their view. Even as new accusers came forward, some still blamed Adam for everything. And they were set on destroying him for good. They posted tweets calling Adam an attention seeker.

[00:14:22]They accused him of working for years to finally get this moment to ruin Colleen for no good reason. Then things escalated. People started creating fake evidence against Adam. One post was made to look like Adam admitting he lied.

[00:14:35]Adam later found that fake post online.

[00:14:37]I want to fess up and admit that I am guilty of everything that has happened.

[00:14:43]>> I want to make tiss right with a >> Some wanted to hurt Adam in real life.

[00:14:48]They threatened to send SWAT teams to Adam's house.

[00:14:50]>> We currently have a team getting ready to SWAT your house. Your address is located and threats will be sent. Go against Colleen and this is what will happen to you.

[00:14:58]>> This harassment continued for 3 years.

[00:15:00]Eventually, Adam reached his limit. To protect himself, Adam filed a report with the police. Then he made a video warning the fans to back off.

[00:15:07]>> All of this has stemmed because of the amount of doxing, swatting, death threats, threats to my family, threats to my animals. The police report didn't stop the attacks. But while Adam was dealing with that, Colleen was dealing with her own hate. In June 2023, she made an apology video to try and save her career. But instead of a straightforward statement, she pulled out a ukulele and sang. I've been wanting to come online and talk to you about a few things. Um, even though my team has strongly advised me to not say what I want to say, I recently realized that they never said that I couldn't sing.

[00:15:45]>> The video was widely criticized. It came off as sarcastic and defensive. Some called it one of the worst apologies on YouTube. And for the first time, her fan base could not control the narrative.

[00:15:55]Colleen's career collapsed, but many of the fans who targeted Adam still support her today. The person in our next chapter was so afraid of a YouTuber's fans, they considered abandoning their home. The fandom that took revenge too far.

[00:16:12]SS Sniperwolf has a fan base that treats her like she can do no wrong. She has over 35 million subscribers on YouTube.

[00:16:19]With that many fans, it's no surprise that some of them are aggressive. And that aggression has caused a lot of problems on the internet. One of SS Sniperwolf's biggest rivals was a fellow creator, Azilan. The conflict started because their thumbnails looked similar.

[00:16:33]Both accused the other of copying their style. Most people might have let something like that go. These two didn't. In 2023, Aziland gave an interview and made the feud worse. She claimed SS Sniperwolf stole her life.

[00:16:45]That statement triggered the fan base.

[00:16:47]They left hateful comments on Aziland's videos. They made Tik Toks comparing the two creators trying to prove Aziland was the copycat. The attacks kept coming day after day. Eventually, it escalated to threats. It's like you don't deserve to live because you've stolen from this person and ruined their life.

[00:17:04]>> Aziland described the situation saying, "It's become like hell. I can't avoid it even if I try." Eventually, she stopped posting altogether. Her last video was in September of 2023. But Aziland wasn't the only person SS Sniperwolf's fans attacked. Another target had it much worse. A YouTuber named Jack's Films had a different kind of problem with SS Sniperwolf. He thought her reaction videos were lazy, loweffort content. So he made parody videos mocking her content as says Sniperwolf didn't like it, so she decided to respond. In October 2023, she posted an Instagram story. She was standing outside Jack's Films house filming it. She added the caption, "Let's talk like adults."

[00:17:42]Jack's Films found out during a live stream.

[00:17:45]>> She's literally right outside your house.

[00:17:46]>> Oh my god, >> this is happening right call the police.

[00:17:49]>> She deleted the post soon after, but screenshots were already spreading online and it contained Jack's Film's home address. And now everyone knew where Jack's Films lives. The next day, he uploaded a video. SS Sniperwolf came to our home last night. It's time for YouTube to step in. He was upset.

[00:18:06]>> No one should feel unsafe in their own home. And thanks to Sniperwolf, my wife and I now do.

[00:18:12]>> He and his wife considered moving just to feel safe again. But as they were about to find out, the worst was yet to come. Across social media, people were upset about Jack's films getting docked.

[00:18:22]She has created a situation where someone from her very devoted audience could do something very stupid and very terrible.

[00:18:29]>> Users called on YouTube to punish SS Sniperwolf. Then something unusual happened. A wave of Twitter accounts appeared out of nowhere and they had one job. Aggressively defend SS Sniperwolf.

[00:18:40]Anyone who criticized her got attacked.

[00:18:42]But this went way beyond arguments.

[00:18:44]These accounts began doxing people.

[00:18:46]Basically, if someone would criticize SS Sniperwolf, soon after their private information would appear online. The situation was becoming chaotic. Then YouTube stepped in. They temporarily demonetized SS Sniperwolf's channel because YouTube's terms of service prohibit threats or doxing. It was a small victory for Jack's film. SS Sniperwolf later apologized for filming outside Jack's house, but the apology didn't undo any of it. Azy Land was already chased off the internet. Jack and his family were in danger in their own home and random people were doxed just for speaking up. The fans believed they were protecting their creator. In reality, they were making life unbearable for other internet users.

[00:19:25]These fandoms didn't start out dangerous. They started out as people who just really loved something. But somewhere along the way, love turned into obsession, and obsession turned into destruction. My friends, being a fan is fine. Becoming a weapon is not.

[00:19:40]visual venture.

[00:19:43]Wait, before you go, make sure you guys watch part one of this toxic fandom series where we talk about a music critic who got death threats over a Taylor Swift review, an esports team that received a weapon in the mail, and a Star Wars fan who tracked down a child actor's home address. Click right here to watch it. Love you guys. Peace.