[6][9] The Kleins have been noted for criticizing YouTube channels that entice young viewers to participate in online gambling related to the video game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, mainly by trading skins for real-world currency.

[11] On February 14, The Wall Street Journal ran a story about PewDiePie's previous references to Adolf Hitler, which brought nine other videos into the debate and elicited frequent discussions on whether media took them out of context.

[13] One of the authors of the Wall Street Journal piece, Jack Nicas, wrote another article on March 24 claiming YouTube did not go far enough to prevent advertising from displaying on videos that might contain racist content.

[15][9][16] In April 2016, Matt Hosseinzadeh, an American YouTube personality who goes by "MattHossZone" and "Bold Guy", filed a civil action against the Kleins for copyright infringement in a video on the h3h3Productions channel.

[22] The Kleins won the lawsuit, with U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest ruling that their commentary video constituted "fair use as a matter of law" and describing it as "quintessential comment and criticism".

[27][28] The lawsuits became a focal point of discussion on the H3 Podcast, where Ethan Klein publicly criticized Kavanaugh’s motives, framing the legal battle as an attempt to suppress free speech.