controversy

Controversies over video rankings
The viewing figures of some YouTube videos have been the subject of controversy, since there have been claims that automated systems have been used to inflate the amount of views received, which is forbidden by YouTube's terms of service. [61] In March 2008, an unofficial video of the song Music Is My Hot Hot Sex by the Brazilian band Cansei De Ser Sexy briefly held the number one slot for the all-time most viewed video, with around 114 million views. It was temporarily removed from YouTube after allegations of automated viewing or hacking, before being deleted by the uploader. [62] A spokesperson for YouTube commented: "We are developing safeguards to secure the statistics on YouTube. Although it is somewhat difficult to track how often this happens, it is not rampant. As soon as it comes to our attention that someone has rigged their numbers to gain placement on the top pages we remove the video or channel from public view." [63] Clarus Bartel from Italy, who had uploaded the video, denied attempting to boost its ranking, stating: "These gimmicks do not belong to me. I've got nothing to do with it. The accusations geared towards me have saddened me greatly." [64]
The YouTube video of the Avril Lavigne song Girlfriend has also been accused of having an exaggerated number of views due to the use of a link with an auto-refresh mechanism posted by AvrilBandAids, a fansite devoted to Avril Lavigne. Clicking on the link will automatically reload the YouTube video of Girlfriend every fifteen seconds. Fans of Avril Lavigne are encouraged to: "Keep this page open while you browse the internet, study for exams, or even sleep. For extra viewing power, open up two or more browser windows at this page!" [65], The video of Girlfriend is set to overtake Evolution of Dance by Judson Laipply as the all-time most viewed video on YouTube, but may be struck from the record books if claims of automated viewing are upheld. As of June 2008, both videos have received around 90 million views. [66] [67]
A YouTube video featuring the anime franchise Evangelion has a view count of around 95 million (as of July 2008), but has been barred from the YouTube charts due to automated viewing.
source:Wikipedia