Do we like them?

Do we like Cyprien Iov?

Our score: 7 out of 10. Decent record, no harmful campaigning, but one old joke he apologised for and one funding row that never went anywhere.

Cyprien Iov grew up in France after his Romanian parents fled Ceaușescu's dictatorship. He told Paris Match he copped jokes and clichés about his background, and reckons that shaped his sense of humour. He started by filming family holidays on a mini DV camera, and about ten years later he was the first French YouTuber past 10 million subscribers.

His rough patches are mostly about jokes landing badly. In 2014 a video about his Romanian roots joked about Roma people, and a reader wrote an open letter calling it stigmatising. He told mademoiZelle he regretted it and that it was clumsy. In 2016 he also made fun of a dating coach called William; some viewers were upset, he reportedly said he regretted it, and William said he took no offence.

On the harm check, the search came up empty on anything against LGBTQ+ people, women, climate or vaccines. When allegations about other YouTubers broke in 2018, he tweeted that he supported the women who spoke up and asked fans not to lump all creators together. The Roma joke is the one real mark, and he apologised for it at the time. We found nothing on who he works with that raises a flag.

There is nothing new on him lately. The most recent news we could confirm is from April 2024, when he said he would file a complaint over AI deepfakes using his face in scam ads. We found no documented charity work, so the good stuff is mostly years of making people laugh without nastiness. That is honestly the whole list.