YouTube has issued fresh warnings to content creators; if you have ‘click-bait Thumbails’, it will ban the videos.
In a newly introduced policy, YouTube is targeting “egregious clickbait” content in India to fight the increasing issue of misleading titles and thumbnails that do not match up with a video’s content. The move is part of the platform’s wider effort to increase authenticity and decrease misinformation, especially concerning breaking news and current events.
What Is Egregious Clickbait?
According to YouTube, egregious clickbait includes videos that use titles or thumbnails containing information that is either entirely false or not covered within the video itself. So a video titled “The President Resigned!” which had no discussion of any resignation would now violate updated YouTube guidelines.
“YouTube users looking for important or timely information may feel misled or frustrated when they come across such content, especially when it matters most,” the platform said in its official blog post.
What is YouTube doing?
The rollout of the policy will be gradual over the next few months. YouTube will remove content violating these guidelines without issuing strikes, initially, to give creators time to adapt. A strike system will be introduced later, with the following penalties for repeat violations:
- First strike: one-week restrictions on uploading, livestreaming, and scheduling videos.
- Second strike (within 90 days): A two-week ban on uploads.
- Third strike (within 90 days): Permanent removal of the channel.
The policy enforcement will be more on new uploads rather than existing content, and YouTube is set to use AI tools in the long run to detect inconsistencies between a video’s promotional elements and its actual content.
This policy will help creators ensure that their content is presented correctly and truthfully. YouTube has assured the provision of tools and support to guide the creators in changing their ways of doing things. For serial offenders, they stand the risk of being penalized heavily, with a possible loss of their channels. For the viewers, this will improve their viewing experience with fewer misleading contents and more credible information, especially when the coverage is of major news events.
YouTube has not announced specific guidelines on how it identifies misleading content or stated whether the policy applies outside of breaking news to, for example, sports and entertainment.
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