TL;DR
- Once Were Nerd, the Italian YouTuber under fire for reviewing handhelds, has shared an update on his channel.
- The case is still active, but authorities have already requested his channel be shut down.
- YouTube is reviewing the case, but he has proactively created a new channel.
The retro gaming community has rallied behind the embattled Italian YouTuber Once Were Nerd, who faces a massive fine and possible jail time for reviewing emulation handhelds with pre-loaded ROMs. He has now posted a short update amid the media frenzy, although it may be his last.
In a YouTube Short embedded below, Once Were Nerd creator Francesco Salicini thanked his followers for their support, and revealed that authorities have already requested that his channels be taken down. This includes not just his website and YouTube channel, but also his Twitch, Facebook, Instagram, Discord, and Telegram.
While his website is already unavailable for many users in Italy, YouTube is still reviewing the case. He has removed all videos covering ANBERNIC handhelds, but his stance is still that he didn’t break any community guidelines. There are countless other YouTubers reviewing the same products, many of which are readily available on Amazon Italy, complete with pre-loaded ROMs.
Still, he has taken the proactive step of creating a second channel in case his first is shut down. He would lose over 220 videos and nearly 50,000 subscribers, but at least he can continue his career as a YouTuber. At the moment, the second channel doesn’t have any uploads, but if things continue to escalate, that’s where you can find future updates.
That said, Francesco did mention that he has to be careful with what he says. Anything he says can be used against him in court, so his lawyers have advised him to avoid giving more details about the case.
Ultimately, his main wish is for all of this to blow over so he can get back to creating YouTube videos for his followers.
