India – YouTube has announced plans to intensify its crackdown on egregious clickbait, aiming to curb the spread of misleading content on the platform and ensure viewers receive accurate and reliable information.
Egregious clickbait refers to video titles or thumbnails that make promises or claims not fulfilled within the video itself, particularly when the content pertains to breaking news or current events.
Examples of egregious clickbait include a video titled ‘The president resigned!’ that doesn’t mention the resignation or a thumbnail labelled ‘Top political news’ with no news content. Such tactics can mislead viewers, leaving them frustrated, especially when seeking timely or important information.
To tackle the issue, YouTube announced plans to ramp up enforcement against videos with titles or thumbnails that make unfulfilled promises. This is particularly crucial for content covering breaking news or current events, ensuring viewers are not misled by what they watch on the platform.
Launching in India over the coming months, this initiative gives creators time to adapt to the updated enforcement policies. YouTube will initially remove violating content without issuing strikes and will focus enforcement on new video uploads as it continues to educate creators.
