YouTube has announced plans to intensify its enforcement against misleading clickbait, focusing on videos where titles or thumbnails fail to deliver the content they promise. From what is understood the initiative is aimed at improving transparency and accuracy, Google revealed through a blog post. This initiative will initially be rolled out in India over the coming months.
The policy targets ‘egregious clickbait,’ defined by Google as instances where the video’s title or thumbnail makes claims that are not addressed in the video. Examples include a title like ‘The President Resigned!’ when the video contains no information on such resignation or a thumbnail labelled ‘Top Political News’ for a video that lacks relevant news coverage, the company further stated.
“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,” Google stated. The platform will begin by removing content that violates this policy without issuing strikes to creators, giving them time to adjust. Enforcement will gradually prioritise newly uploaded videos.