Japanese streamer angry after YouTube subtitles claim she used a slur

Michael Gwilliam

Japanese Twitch streamer SAKURA Senpai wasn’t happy after YouTube’s auto-subtitles incorrectly indicated that she said a slur in one of her recent videos.

According to the subtitles on her February 16 video “How to talk to girls according to Japanese English textbook,” Senpai used a slang slur “Asian n**gas” around the 2:50 mark.

However, as SAKURA was quick to point out during her most recent stream, the video is chalked full of errors to the point where YouTube didn’t even get her name right.

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“YouTube subtitles say ‘Asian n-word’ or something. I didn’t say that at all!” she explained. “Seriously. I didn’t say the n-word at all.”

“I just really want to apologize,” the streamer continued, despite the fact it wasn’t her fault. “I’m so sorry, but I didn’t say that. YouTube just misunderstood.”

She went on to say that she didn’t know how to fix the problem, but provided additional evidence that YouTube was in the wrong.

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Loading up the video, the entertainer showed how mere seconds into the video, YouTube mistook “SAKURA Senpai Live Japanese streamer” for “Agnes my life Japanese sister Eva.”

“What’s Agnes?!” the streamer asked her chat. “What does it mean?”

The errors continued a bit later on in the video too; the video mistook her saying “in Japan” for “in the farm” when she was talking about Valentine’s Day.

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“In the farm?!” she laughed, clearly amused albeit frustrated by the auto subtitles.

For her part, Senpai seemed to conclude that this would be a good way to get multiple views on her video from each user, suggesting that her audience first watch it first normally and then with subtitles for a good laugh.

 

There’s no denying that the mistakes YouTube made were quite brutal, to say the least, even if it was just a case of the program having a hard time understanding her accent. Luckily, Senpai approached things with a clear head and was able to explain it all to her chat.

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About The Author

Michael Gwilliam is a senior writer at Dexerto based in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Overwatch, Smash, influencers, and Twitch culture. Gwilliam has written for sites across Canada including the Toronto Sun. You can contact him at michael.gwilliam@dexerto.com or on Twitter @TheGwilliam