Google Wants to Curb “Egregious Clickbait” on YouTube

Google announced this week that it’s taking new measures to tackle what it calls “egregious clickbait” on YouTube. The company plans to focus its efforts on videos covering breaking news or current events, and it will start increasing its enforcement against clickbait videos in India.

“Egregious clickbait occurs when the video’s title or thumbnail includes promises or claims that aren’t delivered within the video itself, especially when that content focuses on breaking news or current events. This can leave viewers feeling tricked, frustrated, or even misled—particularly in moments when they come to YouTube in search for important or timely information,” the YouTube team explained.

Over the coming months, the YouTube team will start removing clickbait videos where the title or thumbnail teases something without delivering it. To give content creators some time to adapt to the new rules regarding clickbait content, the removal of these videos won’t come with a strike for Community Guidelines violations.

It’s not exactly clear how the company plans to identify clickbait videos and if that process will require human moderation. However, the company plans to start with videos that have already been published in India. “As we continue to educate creators, our enforcement efforts will prioritize new video uploads moving forward,” the YouTube team explained.