YouTube has announced that it’s going to begin cracking down on “clickbait” titles and thumbnails on videos, starting with a rollout of the policy in India.
The Google-owned video platform has continued to make changes to the platform over the last year that include new AI-powered comment suggestions.
They’ve continued to fight against misinformation on the app too, as they launched a feature that allows users to leave a note correcting information in a video, similar to X’s Community Notes.
On Wednesday, December 18, YouTube revealed plans to begin cracking down on “egregious clickbait” titles and thumbnails that “promise viewers something that the video doesn’t deliver.”
YouTube cracks down on “clickbait”
YouTube detailed its plans in a blog post and revealed that the new enforcement is important for videos covering topics like breaking news. It’s unknown if they’re going to solely focus on news videos, but it’s the driving factor behind the change.
“This is especially important when the video covers topics like breaking news or current events, ensuring viewers aren’t misled about what they watch on YouTube,” they said.
“Egregious clickbait occurs when the video’s title or thumbnail includes promises or claims that aren’t delivered within the video itself, especially when that content focuses on breaking news or current events.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
“This can leave viewers feeling tricked, frustrated, or even misled—particularly in moments when they come to YouTube in search for important or timely information.”
YouTube also gave examples of what it’d consider to be clickbait, so users can have an idea of what to look for.
“A video title saying ‘the president resigned!’ where the video doesn’t address the president’s resignation,” is the first example, while a thumbnail that says “top political news” would break the rules if there’s no news coverage in the video.
The blog post also says that, at first, violating content will be removed without YouTube issuing a strike on the channel.
This comes after YouTube announced a massive update to the way videos are used for AI training, adding a prompt that allows creators to choose what companies can access their content.
