YouTube is trying to address its clickbait problem. Clickbait usually consists of flashy titles and thumbnails that have an appealing effect on the brain, including terms like “BREAKING NEWS” and “The president steps down.” But many of the videos just don’t live up to their promises, further infuriating viewers. For the most part, the platform plans to start enforcement in India, especially regarding videos involving breaking news and events.
On Wednesday, YouTube said it will be taking a harder line on such content. It will begin ramping up enforcement in the coming months by introducing more rules. At first, that will mean a crackdown on videos with either a misleading title or thumbnail, YouTube said. YouTube said creators won’t receive strikes against their channels for this early part of the program.
To support creators, YouTube previously launched a program that provided educational training to such creators. This training would allow creators to wipe out any existing warnings against their channels. By giving them resources and guidance, the platform tries to limit violations and encourage better practices in content.
In a blog post on Google India’s website, YouTube stated its commitment to addressing “egregious clickbait.” The company emphasized its goal to improve the viewing experience by ensuring that titles and thumbnails match the content. Misleading content can leave viewers feeling tricked or frustrated, especially when they seek important or timely information.
While the move is a step in the right direction, some questions remain unanswered. For example, it’s not clear how the initiative will delineate breaking news and current affairs. Will it focus strictly on politics and government, or would sports and entertainment fall under these categories as well? Similarly, YouTube hasn’t announced how it would detect mismatches between a video’s thumbnail, title, and the content itself.
The move was in keeping with the larger ambitions of the company in maintaining the trust of the audience, but it waited upon details of how exactly this would be enforced. Given YouTube’s continued refinement of the policy, this may prove a landmark example to take down clickbait on the internet as a whole. More information from Google is required for further updates.
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