What type of videos were posted on the channel?
The Unfavourable Semicircle channel gained a lot of followers because of the cryptic nature of its videos. Some of them were extremely short (mere seconds), others were longer. Some featured random letters, numbers, or symbols in their titles and distorted audio, pixelated visuals, or even black screens.
There were some recurring themes, such as astrological signs. In particular, the Sagittarius symbol appeared quite a lot. Some videos had bizarre or unnerving tones, reminding of web horror themes. Other themes seemed to have a cryptographic nature.
Popular theories about the channel
The channel followers started speculating on these videos, and some theories gained more traction than others.
- One of the most popular theories was that it was a sort of ARG (Alternate Reality Game) or art project. However, unlike typical projects of this type, there was no narrative or interaction with the viewers.
- Another popular theory within the tech world was that the channel was created just for the purpose of testing: some speculated it was a bot testing YouTube’s compression algorithms, upload limits, or even AI responses. The volume and randomness seemed consistent with stress testing or data analysis purposes.
- A fringe theory suggested it was a modern numbers station, possibly delivering encrypted messages to someone.
- A darker theory suggested a person with mental illness was using the platform to express themselves in a non-traditional way.
- Finally, echoing Cold War tactics, some hypothesized the channel was signalling covert operatives via an obscure platform.
The channel removal
In early 2016, Unfavorable Semicircle was removed by YouTube, likely for violating spam or automated content rules. No creator has come forward.
There’s been no confirmed explanation of the purpose of the videos or their origin. No follow-up channels with identical characteristics appeared (at least publicly).
If you are curious about the content of the channel, some mirrors, archives, and Reddit discussions (e.g., /r/UnfavorableSemicircle) still exist.
Theories remain speculative, and interest has largely faded into obscurity, making it a persistent digital enigma.