SciShow
Partial review English
AnimalsNumbers & MathScienceNature & EarthAstronomy
ScreenMyYouTuber — analysis performed by AI, published by us.
Channel analysis summary
SciShow is an educational channel that explores a wide variety of scientific topics, ranging from biology and medicine to geology and psychology. The content is presented by various hosts and focuses on explaining complex phenomena, debunking misconceptions, and sharing recent research in an accessible format.
What YouTube reports
YouTube's own figures for this channel, as collected when we looked. Nothing here is a finding of ours.
- Channel created
- 8,410,000
- Subscribers
- 4,186
- Videos published
- 2,238,030,207
- Total views
Audience the uploader declared This channel is not marked as made for children. That marking is about advertising and data collection, so its absence says nothing about who the videos are for.
Its 100 most recent uploads
Counted from the uploads we fetched when we looked. Where YouTube does not report a figure for a video, that video is left out of the count rather than assumed — so some totals below are smaller than 100.
- Most recent upload
- 32
- Published in the last 90 days
- 0/87
- Run 60 seconds or less
- 11:42
- Typical length
Audio language the uploader declared English
Uploads marked made for children 0 of the 87 uploads that carry the label. That marking is the uploader's own answer to a question about advertising and data collection, and nobody checks it against the videos.
About the channel
What kind of channel this is. These describe it rather than warn about it, so they carry no severity colour.
- Educational value High The channel provides detailed scientific explanations on a wide array of topics and cites its sources in the descriptions.
- Consistency High Consistent branding, format, and educational approach across all sampled videos.
- Synthetic media None found Videos feature human hosts and real-world imagery/footage; no evidence of machine-generated content.
Does well Strong commitment to evidence-based content, providing source documents for its videos. Diverse range of scientific disciplines covered, promoting general curiosity and STEM learning.
This is a preliminary review. Some of what we wanted to examine was out of reach when this analysis ran, so it rests on less evidence than a full review. What is published below is accurate as far as it goes; the limitations section says what it could not cover.
Age guidance
older
While primarily educational, the channel covers mature topics including drug legality and usage (cannabis, kratom), deadly epidemics, and brain cancer. These subjects require a level of maturity and critical thinking more suited for older children or teenagers.
Age guidance is our reading of the sample, not a rating and not a certification.
What we found
11 of 11 risk areas were assessed, worst first. A finding is an observation with evidence behind it, not an accusation.
-
Mature themes
ModerateSexual, romantic, or otherwise adult subject matter.
The channel discusses the legal limits of cannabis and the dangers of gas station drugs like kratom and synthetic THC.
2 video(s) cited
-
Horror
LowFear, dread, jump scares, and disturbing imagery.
Some imagery related to death and disease, such as a grim reaper illustration and a plague doctor mask, is used for educational context.
2 video(s) cited
-
Commercial pressure
LowSelling, undisclosed promotion, gambling mechanics, and scams.
Videos contain standard sponsorships (e.g., Brilliant, Babbel, Squarespace) and links to a Patreon, but these are presented as supporting the channel's existence.
9 video(s) cited
-
Adult activities
LowAlcohol, drugs, tobacco, gambling, and driving.
Discussion of drug use is framed within a legal and scientific context rather than promoting adult activities.
2 video(s) cited
-
Medical body horror
LowInjections, surgery, injury detail, and body distortion.
Includes medical imagery such as an MRI of a brain tumor and discussions of the plague, but used for scientific education.
2 video(s) cited
Nothing found in: language · violence · bullying · external contact · stimulation · impersonation
What this review covers
Harmful or misleading content · every video
- 100
- Videos screened
- 2
- Flagged
- 0
- Of those, presentation mismatches
Age suitability and risk areas · a sample
- 10
- Videos reviewed
- 0
- Spoken content examined
What this review could not see
- We could not access what is said in 10 of 10 videos we looked at; findings for those rest on titles, descriptions, and thumbnail images.
The model reads text and still images. It does not watch video or listen to audio. Full methodology.
What we looked at
Automated screening checked all 100 of this channel's videos for harmful content and for videos presenting themselves as something they are not, and flagged 2. The age band and risk areas above are a separate reading of 10 of those videos. We do not have what is said in any of those, so every finding rests on how a video presents itself rather than on what it contains.
Flag reasons are AI observations, published as produced — read them alongside the video, not instead of it. How screening and sampling work
Stood out from the sample
-
Why We Can’t Find a Legal Limit for Weed
Flagged ·
Content regarding legal limits for cannabis is inappropriate for a curated kids' app.
-
What's In Those Gas Station Drugs?
Flagged ·
Content discusses dangerous drugs and synthetic substances, inappropriate for a curated kids' app.
The rest of the sample
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How to Turn Cancer Into Brain Cells
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Zoom Calls Are So Much Worse For Us Than You Think
-
What China's Stone Forest Teaches Us About Cities
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The Plague Will Probably Return
-
7 Deadly Epidemics You Didn’t Know Existed
-
How Soviet Smugglers Fought Censorship With X-Rays
-
Orangutan Communication is Eerily Similar to Ours
-
Why Hold Music Still Sucks
Think this review is wrong?
If you represent this channel and believe our analysis is inaccurate, contact us and we will re-examine it. A review can be withdrawn from publication immediately on request while that happens.