Youtubers...

[Rad1sh]

I watch a TON of youtube videos. I have a job that either I am busy or I am waiting to be busy. Mostly I am waiting. I am starting to think a good portion of youtube detecting videos are fake. I am not saying all, but the just did a quick hunt for an hour and got 3 silvers, and this gold ring.

So give it to me straight, am I a cynical asshat or am I seeing the light? I

 

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[Terry Soloman]

I guess that is a judgement call. I think the majority are legit, but there ARE a lot fake finds on Youtube. Some of these cats make huge money from Google Adsense on their videos (I'm one of them), and I can see how many are tempted to make "fantastical finds" for clicks. I personally know a fella that claimed to have found a huge silver horde on Youtube - It was actually a sock drawer collection he bought at an estate sale. Why do they do it? Money.

 

[A2coins]

Dont believe everything you see on the internet people will do just about anything for money

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Dont believe everything you see on the internet people will do just about anything for money

Well, not "anything"........

 

[A2coins]

True but almost anything the more they get out of it the more they will do. Lol

 

[Rookster]

I agree but I love treasure hunting and you just have to over look the one you think are fake.i personally like Diggin with Britt. Yee Haw.

 

[roygpa]

In November I saw a "staged" live dig and asked people on a facebook group if I should call him out. Didn't post the video address publicly, just privately to a couple of people who were interested. Apparently the youtuber was also a member of the facebook group where I mentioned that I saw a staged dig and he got mad and told the moderator that I was being a bully and had my post removed.

It was obviously stage because I saw the "palmed coin hit the mud clean and then get pushed into the mud.

 

[smokeythecat]

I'd say 90% is junk. Even with some of the better know channels, it's a lot of make believe. Gotta get those clicks. I loved the one where the guy pulled a SHINY buffalo nickle out of the ground!

 

[marjam]

I always liked looking for things, and I had a metal detector before youtube was invented, but I didnt get into the hobby like I am now until youtube came along and I could watch folks with metal detectors finding things. That's when I became really "ate up with it", as we like to say here. In the early days, there wasnt as much sensationalism in the videos, just some folks out digging holes and retrieving finds. That was enough for me to go out and get a real good detector, learn it, and start finding real good things myself. So I give youtube the credit of getting me deep into the hobby, but I dont believe everything I see on it either. I just consider it entertainment, and if some of the finds are fake digs on there, it has inspired me to go out and dig up things that have truly been in the ground for a long time, and not seeded.

 

[smallfoot]

I take em all with a grain of salt but I believe there are some really good ones that don't have to fake it..

 

[Tiredman]

I watch AGT and various other shows. Not big on detecting anymore.

 

[desmobob]

I'd guess there are a lot of downright faked videos. There is also a lot of plain old editing. Even on the channels I consider trustworthy, valuable treasures get dug on every outing with only a piece or two of trash in between. It gets you excited about going out hunting and then you realize you often have to dig trash for days in order to find the treasure the videos show on every trip out.

 

[kingskid1611]

What is YouTube?

 

[Georgivs]

There are fakes for sure, but then there are real hunters who spend hours editing their recordings so that you only see what you came for (no one wants to watch 45 minutes of pull tabs and 5 minutes of coins). What you find depends on where you look. If you're hunting the same tired sites then chances are you aren't going to come up with big finds like the guys who do hours of research and go door-knocking like its their job. My favorite tuber is aquachigger and I don't think any of his finds are fake.

 

[Owassokie]

I have a couple thoughts. First, most guys aren't posting all their video content. They're posting the stuff people will find interesting....ie cool finds. It doesn't represent the time they've invested in the hobby and most don't pretend it does. Second, if you are only going for "clicks", I think you'd have a lot more success with different content. Metal detecting isn't exactly one of the most popular American past times. I honestly feel most people are watching with a bit too much of a critical eye. Is there clickbait? Sure, but I think it's limited. Maybe I'm just gullible....who knows. I feel like the vast majority are just regular guys filming their finds and sharing them with like minded people. Sometimes things don't come out of their ground the way it comes out of my ground.

Also, if you are watching the first few videos that pop up on a search, you're watching the click bait. I don't watch this stuff. I typically limit my searches to a certain period of time or I'll have youtube list it in order beginning with most recent. I never watch in the order Youtube lists originally. Another HUGE clue on the click bait is the TITLE. Are they begging you to watch it? If so, it's probably not worth watching.

 

[OBN]

I was among the first to do youtube metal detecting video's in early 2008, camera's were crude and video quality was poor. There were just a handful of us doing them, and all were pure and simple. Now after 12 years it seems to be who can outgun who, and get the most SUB's. I would imagine many are setup, and many are the real deal. I think common sense will tell you in time who is who. It's got so crazy I've narrowed down my favorites to just a few. I still do my video's with close to 500 but rarely do I share. I'm not going to give anyone a chance to figure out where I hunt for all it takes is one to recognize a landmark and your best spot will be pouched. On the other hand if your planting targets.......... then I guess you don't have to worry about giving up the location.

 

[TooManyHobbies]

Another HUGE clue on the click bait is the TITTLE. Are they begging you to watch it? If so, it's probably not worth watching.

There, fixed it for you. (HUGE TITTLE? Is usually click bait)

 

[Owassokie]

There, fixed it for you. (HUGE TITTLE? Is usually click bait)

True

 

[desmobob]

There are fakes for sure, but then there are real hunters who spend hours editing their recordings so that you only see what you came for (no one wants to watch 45 minutes of pull tabs and 5 minutes of coins). What you find depends on where you look. If you're hunting the same tired sites then chances are you aren't going to come up with big finds like the guys who do hours of research and go door-knocking like its their job. My favorite tuber is aquachigger and I don't think any of his finds are fake.

I agree. When I talked about editing, I didn't mean to suggest that video makers did it in a dishonest way. As you mentioned, nobody wants to watch 45 minutes of digging pull tabs. But editing to eliminate the junk sure makes the videos seem too good to be true, even though you know what really happens on a dig. I guess there's no way to avoid that other than mentioning on camera how much junk was dug and edited out.

Many of these guys are experts, do extensive research and are rewarded with excellent finds. No one would want to watch videos of me swinging a coil through miles of woods and finding nothing, or digging can slaw and rusty bottle caps.

 

[Owassokie]

I agree. When I talked about editing, I didn't mean to suggest that video makers did it in a dishonest way. As you mentioned, nobody wants to watch 45 minutes of digging pull tabs. But editing to eliminate the junk sure makes the videos seem too good to be true, even though you know what really happens on a dig. I guess there's no way to avoid that other than mentioning on camera how much junk was dug and edited out.

And I think what you're talking about above is probably what a lot of people are labeling as "fake" or "staged" when it's really just edited for viewership. You have to think of it from the video posters perspective. Why are they posting. They are probably either creating a video journal, educating, or entertaining. Most of the videos with lots of clicks are made for entertainment. Edited does not equal fake. There are plenty of MDing videos that don't have a ton of editing....you just have to skip over all the others to find them. Problem is, most people don't actually want to watch unedited or lightly edited MDing video because it can be tedious and boring.