LOS ANGELES — A crisis was averted today after YouTuber IcePlasmaWave assured the audience watching his “Top 10 Metroid Power-Ups” video that the ranking was just his opinion and not a 100% scientifically accurate list of fictional weapons.
“I’m a superfan of the Metroid franchise, and I’ve played these games a ton,” said IcePlasmaWave in the nearly seven-minute preamble to his ranking including a three-minute ad for NordVPN, “I’m going to be analyzing these power-ups based on combat utility, exploration ability, and just on how cool I think they are, so my ranking may be different from the official ranking, the one we all agree is truthful, authoritative, and factual. So don’t come yell at me on Twitter, or blow up my Twitch chat, or try to find me in real life, ok? Don’t fucking SWAT me over this shit.”
IcePlasmaWave continued, mentioning that it was his own life experiences and history with the Metroid games that led him to sort the power-ups based solely on his own point of view, as opposed to the ranking that scholars across the globe agree upon.
“We’ve seen a lot of discussion in the past decade about what it means to tell the truth, and if we as journalists and members of the media have an obligation to act as fact-checkers for our audience,” said USC Associate Professor of Journalism Jill Allerd. “Even on YouTube, it’s important for any sort of public figure to make sure that their viewers know the difference between fact and opinion. I’ll be the first to admit my eyebrow raised when I saw the Grapple Beam ranked fourth when it’s been settled for years that it’s the 7th best power-up in the Metroid Series, but that’s what the disclaimer is there for.”
The YouTuber’s decision to reveal their bias in making the ranking video headed off days of negative reactions from the public at large, putting many viewers’ minds at ease.
“I was so ready when I clicked that video to go yell at this guy on Twitter, or blow up his Twitch chat, or try to find him in real life when I saw that video’s title,” said viewer Grant McClure. “Hell, I was even getting ready to kidnap his dog. Then I saw that the whole thing was just their personal opinion and so I decided to just be normal about the whole thing.”
At press time, all hell had broken loose in the comments after IcePlasmaWave encouraged his viewers at the end of the video to let him know their opinions down below
