Spain's state-funded YouTubers: the La Gata de Schrödinger controversy

Why state-funded YouTubers have gone down badly with half the internet

Does the state pay established YouTubers to keep doing what they were already doing? It is not a rhetorical question. According to reports that have circulated, physicist Javier Santaolalla would top the list of recipients of public money, and the channel La Gata de Schrödinger, fronted by Rocío Vidal, has become the symbol of the controversy.

A public channel competing against independent creators

The anger is not with science communication, but with how it is paid for. The state would have set up a YouTube channel and, to give it an audience, bought content from influencers with their own communities. The analogy that keeps coming up is devastating: it is as if the government built another public broadcaster and commissioned its shows from Antena 3 or Telecinco. The taxpayer pays twice.

There is also the theory that public money keeps some creators from moving to Andorra: anyone on the state payroll does not need to look for tax havens. And if that payroll also buys their silence, the deal is perfect.

The highest earner and the pending 'me too'

Among the names mentioned, Santaolalla comes off worst: critics place him as the one who would have received the most. He is not alone. Ibai Llanos, Xokas and Jordi Wild appear on the list of usual suspects because of their past closeness to the government. The response to the controversy has been an announcement of a wave of revelations, a 'me too' that sceptics await with a smirk.

The core issue is simple: should public money fund someone who already has millions of subscribers? Critics say no; others argue that science communication is also a public service. The irony is that, while less state is demanded for the household economy, it is celebrated that the state pays for channels. Meanwhile, the next batch of names may settle the question. Or not.