Samsung damage control backfires after Galaxy S4 fire claim

A DAMAGE control attempt by Samsung has backfired spectacularly after the tech giant tried to pull down YouTube evidence of its phone catching fire.

YouTube user ghostlyrich posted a video showing proof his Samsung Galaxy S4 caught fire while charging - proof that was demanded by the company before it would replace his phone.

Ghostlyrich, from Canada, then posted a follow up video detailing Samsung's attempt to "silence" him and it has attracted almost half a million views - four times as many hits as the original video.

Ghostlyrich with his burnt Galaxy S4.

"The other night we plugged it in and we're like, you know, letting it charge. Literally nothing different. And then the smell of smoke and fire and destruction," he said.

He shows a close up of the burnt charging port and the phone case which has bubbled from the heat.

He says the fire caused damage to the internal hardware. He adds that it was lucky the lithium-ion battery did not catch fire because they can expand and explode into "molten flames".

In the second video Ghostlyrich reads from a letter he claims he received from Samsung asking him to take down the first video. He has posted a copy of the letteronline with names removed.

"I need to basically sign away the right to have my YouTube video up,'" he says. "I'm not allowed to tell you that this is a big thing."

The tech giant offers to replace his phone with a "similar model" but requires that he irrevocably absolve the company of any liability. He must also agree not to file any subsequent law suits against Samsung and must keep the details of his settlement confidential.

"They're trying to bandage it and keep people quiet," he said.