YouTube takes action against clickbait videos, starting in its biggest market

You’ve probably seen them – those flashy YouTube titles and thumbnails like “Breaking News” or “Shocking Truth About the President,” designed to lure you in with promises of drama, only to deliver something completely off-topic. Well, YouTube is finally putting its foot down on these clickbait tactics.

Kicking off in India, YouTube is stepping up its game in cracking down on videos with misleading titles or thumbnails that don’t match their actual content. The Google-owned platform says it’s focusing on topics like breaking news and current events to make sure viewers aren’t duped by false promises about what they’re about to watch.


Basically, clickbait is a type of online content that uses sensationalized or misleading headlines to attract clicks. And it can be really annoying when the title or thumbnail makes bold promises that the video fails to deliver, especially when it’s about breaking news or current events.

This type of deception can leave viewers feeling duped, frustrated, or misled – especially when they turn to YouTube for timely, important updates. You’ve likely come across a few yourself, like, for example, a video titled “The President Resigned!” – only to find that the video never even touches on the president’s resignation.

YouTube hasn’t exactly spelled out how it plans to define “news” or “current events.” For example, does breaking news only apply to politics and government, or will sports events make the cut too? The platform also hasn’t explained how it plans to spot when a title or thumbnail doesn’t match the video content.

But hey, I’m glad to see big platforms like YouTube – home to over 2 billion users – starting to take a closer look at misleading content and making moves (hopefully for real, and not just for show) to crack down on it.

In other YouTube updates, the Android app is experimenting with a new landscape layout for a smoother viewing experience. Creators will also get a fresh way to engage with their audience by recording responses to comments directly under their videos. Oh, and let’s not overlook the complete overhaul of the YouTube Kids mobile app.