Linus Sebastian addresses error handling and ethics in a new video

Over a week after Linus Media Group paused video production after allegations of theft, ethical missteps, and sexual harassment, Sebastian provided a partial response to the issues and updated viewers on what’s changing.

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Linus Media Group (LMG) founder Linus Sebastian explained LMG’s HR policies and how it will improve accuracy and ethics in a video posted to YouTube last night.

Following a 10-day pause to evaluate its processes, Sebastian said the company held meetings with team members to “dig through every misstep” and identify “communication and ... teamwork challenges” that resulted in accusations of LMG’s quality issues. He added that the company will no longer insist on uploading videos daily and will slow down to verify its content is accurate.

Sebastian did not directly address sexual harassment allegations recently levied by a former employee, Madison Reeve. Sebastian detailed changes to its HR structure over the year, including hiring outside consultants to review its policies in 2018, later contracting with an independent firm to handle HR issues, and eventually adding an in-house HR department. In a statement at the beginning of its production pause, Sebastian told us, “Our HR team will be conducting a more thorough assessment of the allegations, and when we are ready, we will release a more complete statement.”

Sebastian said Linus Tech Tips (LTT) now has “a clear rubric,” which he posted on the LTT forums, “that defines error severity and prescribes the appropriate fix,” which could range from pinned comments to full reshoots or even total cancellation of a project if necessary. LMG will, he said, use a newly formed error-checking community group, currently consisting of “fewer than 10 extremely knowledgeable” Linus Tech Tips community members, to verify the accuracy of the company’s videos.

Other changes are intended to improve business transparency, including publicly publishing the media group’s sponsorship guidelines and improving item tracking for products LMG has been sent for testing. He says the company now has a system for tracking the status of products provided to LMG to avoid future confusion regarding “items that start out as we don’t need it back and then turn into a loan later on.”

Later in the video, Sebastian talked about the company’s benefits, highlighting team outings, holiday parties, and internal giveaways. He discussed the company’s HR policies and department structure, saying the company will double its mental health counseling contribution later this year in response to recent online harassment experienced by LMG employees.

We’ve reached out to Linus Media Group for additional comment but did not receive a response by press time.