Linus Media Group is currently under fire due to alleged inaccuracy in some of the company’s videos. The company was also accused of workplace sexual harassment. Early this week, Gamers Nexus posted a video detailing errors and ethical considerations in Linus Tech Tips videos. On August 16, Linus announced that the company is halting all video production to work on “long-term workflow changes.”
The start of the controversy
On August 14, Steve Burke, a host of Gamers Nexus, called out Linus Media Group’s data errors on their Billet Labs’ cooling block review and auctioning it without permission. Additionally, Burke pointed out that Linus favors the products from companies in their reviews, such as Framework and Noctua.
According to Burke, “We’ve been seeing an alarming amount of conflicts from Linus Tech Tips as it relates to their corporate connections, their flow of money, and the potential bias as a result of those things.”
Linus Sebastian responded to Burke in a forum, saying the auction was due to miscommunication. “It’s been disheartening seeing how many people were willing to jump on us here,” he added, affirming that their team is doing internal work to clean up their processes.
Sexual harassment allegation from a former employee
Before Linus Tech Tips posted its video, Madison Reeve, a former employee, wrote a post in X describing her work environment, including being sexually harassed. “It did not matter if I spoke to someone with evidence of an abuse of power, or inappropriate workplace behavior, it was considered tattle [telling],” Reeves wrote.
Addressing some of the controversy
Linus Tech Tips recently posted a video announcing they are pausing video production did not address the sexual harassment allegation. On the email response to The Verge, Sebastian said he was in a state of shock knowing about the allegation. “Our HR team will be conducting a more thorough assessment of the allegations, and when we are ready, we will release a more complete statement,” the email reads.