Logan Paul video: YouTube users act fast to re-upload 'suicide forest' video despite it being taken down

Hours after the original video was removed, it was readily available

Numerous YouTube users are generating millions of views by uploading a banned video of a corpse.

The post, which depicted star Logan Paul heading into a Japanese "suicide forest" and filming himself joking next to the corpse of a man who died by suicide, has been the centre of one of YouTube's biggest controversies. But despite the video apparently breaking YouTube's rules, it's still easy to see it on the site.

The video is proving so popular and controversial that even re-uploads of it by unknown users are breaking into the site's "trending" page, which lists the most viral posts on the site.

Mr Paul removed the video soon after the controversy erupted, and eventually posted an apology. But the footage can easily be found on YouTube, owing to numerous re-uploads by people who had captured it and then posted it again.

Some of those people are attempting to exploit the appetite for the footage for their own gain, by posting videos that appear to be the video from Mr Paul but actually show themselves or other videos. But a range of videos also include the full, uncensored footage, including the explicit pictures of a dead man's body that began the controversy.

Some of those videos have been seen millions of times before they were taken down. Even the original video was viewed more than six million times before it was taken off the site.

YouTube users regularly upload banned or difficult-to-access videos onto the site, and those posts are regularly taken down. Though YouTube looks to act as quickly as it can to take down such problem content, the sheer numbers of users attempting to upload content can make it difficult to do so.

Though the original video was taken down by Logan Paul himself, YouTube has suggested that it did break its rules and so posts re-using it not only infringe copyright but would be in contravention of its rules. Many of the more legitimate re-posts make that clear, and edit out the explicit footage of the dead man's body, as The Independent has done.

"Our hearts go out to the family of the person featured in the video," the company said in response to the original video. "YouTube prohibits violent or gory content posted in a shocking, sensational or disrespectful manner.

"If a video is graphic, it can only remain on the site when supported by appropriate educational or documentary information and in some cases it will be age-gated. We partner with safety groups such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to provide educational resources that are incorporated in our YouTube Safety Center."