I've done a whole NTSB breakdown on that incident before, but here's what I hope is the short version:

He was using Pop!_OS. Pop!_OS' desktop environment was at the time kind of a fork of Gnome. I think now it outright is a fork of Gnome.

It just so happened that a version of the Steam .deb package went out with a buggy set of prerequisite data such that if it encountered a "weird" desktop environment it would declare itself incompatible with this which would make APT uninstall the entire GUI stack, right on down to Xorg. It wouldn't happen to distros using more mainstream desktops like Gnome or KDE or xfce, but it did effect weird things like Pop!_OS.

This bugged version was apparently the latest version published when the Pop!_OS install image Linus used was made, so that was the version in the apt cache on Linus' Pop!_OS machine.

In the time between the creation of that install media and the filming of the episode, the bug had been reported and an updated version pushed to the repo.

At no point during the install-first boot process, or while launching the Pop!_Shop did Pop!_OS update the apt cache.

Linus tried to install Steam via the Pop!_Shop's GUI. behind the scenes it saw the error about incompatibility with the desktop and threw a dialog box that said "Failed to install Steam." The system was not harmed or altered in any way and continued working correctly.

Instead of googling "popos failed to install steam" to see if there's a way to fix it, he instead threw a small bitch fit about how Linux doesn't work and you have to use the terminal for everything. He googled for "how to install steam with the terminal" or similar, and found the command "sudo apt install steam." Most guides online for installing things using APT tell you to run an update and probably an upgrade command first, I do not know if Linus found instructions that omitted that or if he skimmed too aggressively.

Running the command "sudo apt install steam" printed a lot of STDIO to the terminal including a large list of things it was preparing to uninstall, followed by a plaintext warning in bold text that read (paraphrasing) **WARNING! This operation is very likely to seriously damage your computer. You should not do this unless you REALLY know what you are doing. To continue, type "Yes do as I say."

It is my belief that Windows trained Linus to ignore such warnings, because Windows constantly throws errors about "this may harm your computer" basically every time it asks for administrator privileges. Linux does not do this; Linux usually accepts a 'y' or even just hitting the enter key with no input to mean "yes proceed," sometimes when it wants you to really stop and think it'll make you type the whole word "yes." Having to type that whole sentence feels almost like "update your last will and testament to continue." I think a lot of users learned it would do that from Linus' video.

He did so, the computer dutifully uninstalled the entire GUI stack and dropped him into a terminal.

I dont remember the specific details, but it was a bug in that install version that.. ~~Mint~~ Pop_OS! (Thanks Joo)? I think it was? was slow to fix until the video came out or something?

Anyway, long story short, He did ignore a warning, but what happened shouldnt have happened regardless, and it was totally something a novice could do, especially since, as a novice myself, most internet searchable help for linux issues boils down to "run this command, it'll fix it" with no real broader explanation.

That doesnt mean he isnt an ignorant cunt in a thousand other ways though.

I've said this several times before.

There were a couple episodes where they had iJustine on as a guest. I think they built a server for her? Anyway one episode they did was they set up a Mac and a Windows PC next to each other, and had Justine use Windows and Linus use MacOS for a series of routine computer tasks. Both found stumbling blocks. Both of them, when hearing what the task is, said to the other "Oh you're going to struggle with that." I remember specifically Justine saying that of taking a screenshot on MacOS because apparently the key combination isn't intuitive, it's something like Cmd+6 or something?

Why didn't WIndows and MacOS both get declared unfit for use by normies the way Linux did? They did a similar "here are some tasks to complete" challenge which wasn't well thought out; how would most people "sign a PDF?" Why would "enjoy HDR content" be on there other than "lol it doesn't support this."

I also recall another older episode where (do we retroactively call her Emily for appearances in older videos?) walked James through the process of installing and running games in Linux. Which I think would be a more valuable series of videos than "some guys who fully intend to go back to windows at the end of a month try to slog through Linux unaided I guess." Do a 30-day Learning Linux challenge, where some newbies who genuinely have a goal of switching platforms do so under the guidance of a veteran user.

I'll even put my keyboard where my mouth is. I've used Linux full time for 10 years now for work and play, I do not currently own any working Windows systems. I'll volunteer to be that mentor character on camera.

The part you are missing is that they are making content that aligns with the majority of their audience. Most people will put in a similar level of effort. Most people don't care, they just want it to work with the least effort possible.

He could take a bit of a gamble, do some Linux as a comparison and see if that draws viewers too, maybe some attention from those that are curious about Linux but not enough to actually delve into the topic themselves (or deterred by the reputation of Linux being complicated).

Choosing a suitable distribution might be a challenge, particularly because some distro elitists will inevitably come to dunk on his choice and he might not want the comment section to be clogged by distro wars (particularly if the majority of viewers, as you suggested, are Windows users and will find that off-putting).