I think there's an extent where "clout" (depending on how you define that) makes sense.
Let's take Joe Rogan as an example, ignoring for now that he's going to Spotify next year. I'd imagine that what happened to this small YouTuber would be impossible to happen to Joe Rogan. He likely has the cell phone number of several people at YouTube. It could even be the case that his account is flagged in a way that only a high-level staffer can take certain actions. So many people are watching him that it'd be a huge problem for YouTube's audience if something were to happen to his channel in error.
It's good service to the YouTube community to give the most popular folks outsized attention. Not even talking PR here, though I'm sure that's just as powerful a force. Just in terms of "how quickly would the audience be affected." Obviously, there are limits to this and it would seriously hurt YouTube's brand if they were known as being bad for small creators.
Let's take Joe Rogan as an example, ignoring for now that he's going to Spotify next year. I'd imagine that what happened to this small YouTuber would be impossible to happen to Joe Rogan. He likely has the cell phone number of several people at YouTube. It could even be the case that his account is flagged in a way that only a high-level staffer can take certain actions. So many people are watching him that it'd be a huge problem for YouTube's audience if something were to happen to his channel in error.
It's good service to the YouTube community to give the most popular folks outsized attention. Not even talking PR here, though I'm sure that's just as powerful a force. Just in terms of "how quickly would the audience be affected." Obviously, there are limits to this and it would seriously hurt YouTube's brand if they were known as being bad for small creators.