YouTube is doubling down on clickbaits starting with India

YouTube has recently announced plans to intensify its efforts against egregious clickbait, starting with a phased rollout in India over the coming months.

 

The popular video streaming platform is aiming to tackle misleading video titles and thumbnails, particularly for content covering breaking news or current events, where accuracy and trust are critical.

According to a recent blog by YouTube, examples of egregious clickbait include video titles falsely claiming events, such as "The president resigned!" without addressing the topic, or thumbnails suggesting "top political news" without any actual news coverage.

Egregious clickbaits focusing on breaking news or current events can "leave viewers feeling tricked, frustrated, or even misled—particularly in moments when they come to YouTube in search for important or timely information," states the blog.

This decision reflects YouTube's efforts to maintain viewer trust while addressing growing concerns about misinformation and misleading content globally. In recent times, several Indian entities have been widely criticised for various misinformation campaigns against Bangladesh.

To ease the transition, YouTube will initially focus on educating creators and removing content that violates the updated policy without issuing strikes. Enforcement will prioritise new uploads moving forward, giving creators time to adapt to the changes.