"My Vicarious Satisfaction Every Night Gone: Sudden Deletion of Past Videos... Mukbang YouTubers Hit by Crackdown"

YouTube Revamps Guidelines on Eating Disorder Risks
Retroactive Application Leads to Deletion of Past Videos, Impacting Major Channels

YouTubers devouring 20 kilograms of gopchang alone, eating 20 packs of ramen, or consuming 240 pieces of sushi in a single sitting have become a familiar sight. Korea’s “mukbang”—now established as a globally popular content genre—has recently faced strict new regulatory winds from YouTube.

A mukbang YouTuber is eating a pile of food. YouTube screenshot @ZOEY ASMR

Recently, YouTube has toughened its guidelines across the board for content that could lead to eating disorders—such as anorexia and bulimia, both mental health conditions characterized by excessive fear of weight gain—or promote binge-eating. As a result, even past videos are being abruptly deleted.

Stricter YouTube Guidelines... "Imitation Risk" Now the Core Standard

The key feature of this policy overhaul is that YouTube now prioritizes the risk of viewers imitating the content over the creator’s intentions. In 2023, YouTube updated its content guidelines for eating disorders, primarily restricting videos that directly glamorized or encouraged such conditions.

Videos of the "10,000 to 20,000 Calorie Challenge" that are easy for teenagers to imitate. Screenshot from YouTube

Later that year, in September, YouTube expanded its policy to advertising as well, announcing that monetization would be denied to content introducing risky behaviors, such as misuse of laxatives, that viewers might imitate. However, the criteria being implemented now are even more stringent. Even if a creator does not explicitly encourage eating disorders, if there is a risk that viewers could imitate the behavior after watching the content, it will be subject to enforcement action.

A YouTuber stacking and eating cup noodles. YouTube capture

Accordingly, YouTube has decided to impose a blanket ban on monetization for exaggerated binge-eating scenes or videos showcasing large piles of food. Notably, this does not just apply to new uploads: the rules are being retroactively enforced, and a comprehensive review of videos from years past is underway, sparking considerable disruption in the industry.

Even Everyday Vlogs and Diet Content May Be Regulated

YouTube also plans to rigorously scrutinize the context of the entire content—including titles, thumbnails, descriptions, and tags. This means that not only professional mukbang YouTubers, but also ordinary users uploading everyday vlogs, can no longer feel secure.

For example, common vlog content that shows someone on a diet saying, "It's my cheat day, so I'm binge-eating today," or challenges like the "10,000 Calorie Challenge" and "Fasting for 24 Hours, Then Eating 10 Chickens" could all fall within the scope of regulation.

A YouTuber uploaded a vlog about how to maintain an extremely thin body shape. YouTube capture

Additionally, content that features extreme weight loss methods based on dangerous keywords—such as "skeletal diet" (seeking a body so thin that bones are visible) or "quick gain quick loss" (rapidly gaining and losing weight)—is also facing direct repercussions under these revised policies.

Major Channels Like Tzuyang and Heebab Also on Alert

The effects of these new policies are already being felt by some YouTubers. "Salppaejo," a creator with 440,000 subscribers, has had monetization suspended and has stopped uploading new videos. YouTuber "Miso" has had to delete 339 potentially problematic videos uploaded over the past four years in order to protect her channel.

'A mukbang video of a woman eating 17 meters of gopchang alone.' YouTube capture

With retroactive enforcement extending to past videos, concerns are now rising that even major channels—such as Tzuyang, with 13.5 million subscribers, and Heebab, with 1.72 million—are no longer safe from scrutiny.

Eating Disorders. Not directly related to the article. Getty Images

The mukbang industry, which has achieved remarkable success in the global market and become recognized as a proper noun, now stands at a crossroads. Food service industry experts advise, "To avoid regulatory risks, it is time to make a major shift away from sensational production styles and move toward content focused on gastronomy and authentic engagement."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.