YouTube to crack down ‘egregious’ clickbait videos

YouTube is ramping up its efforts to crack down on what it calls “egregious clickbait,” particularly in videos claiming to cover (or pretending to cover) news and current events.

The platform defines egregious clickbait as content where the title or thumbnail promises something the video doesn’t deliver.

A couple of examples YouTube mentioned were a video title saying, “the president resigned!” where the video didn’t even address the president’s resignation; and a thumbnail saying “top political news” on a video that didn’t include any legitimate news coverage.

Such videos often leave viewers feeling “tricked, frustrated, or even misled,” especially when they’re searching for reliable information on important issues, YouTube says.

If you’ve spent any time on the platform, this might not surprise you. Spotting and skipping these kinds of videos has become a skill for many. However, not everyone is adept at distinguishing between clickbait and legitimate content, and that’s where YouTube plans to step in.

The crackdown starts ‘slowly’ in India in the coming months, though YouTube hasn’t detailed how or when it plans to expand enforcement to other regions. For now, the company says it will delete videos violating this policy without issuing strikes.

“As we continue to educate creators, our enforcement efforts will prioritize new video uploads moving forward,” YouTube concluded.