YouTube Is Going To Remove Videos With Clickbait Titles and Thumbnails in India: Know More

A recent official announcement from YouTube India may act as a caution to certain creators who utilise clickbait titles or thumbnails to make their videos seem more engaging. Google announced in a blog post that it will remove videos with clickbait names or thumbnails, especially those that deal with breaking news or current affairs.

According to the tech giant, a lot of content creators utilise flashy and deceptive titles, such as ‘Breaking News’ or ‘The President Steps Down,’ which frequently lead to misunderstandings and ultimately inaccurate content. YouTube claims that these kinds of titles have the potential to deceive and irritate viewers, particularly those who are searching for important information.

“We’re strengthening our efforts to tackle egregious clickbait on YouTube. This means we’re planning to increase our enforcement against videos where the title or thumbnail promises viewers something that the video doesn't deliver," Google said via a blog post.

“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. We’ll start by slowly rolling this out in India over the coming months," the post added.

To solve the problem, YouTube’s news initiative has declared that it will remove videos that employ clickbait strategies of this kind without imposing penalties on the channel of the producer. The company will, however, give content creators some time to modify and match their videos with YouTube’s new guidelines.

YouTube has previously attempted to address the issue of clickbait on the platform. In the past, the tech behemoth launched an educational initiative to assist creators steer clear of clickbait. Currently, videos that use such titles will be removed.

Meanwhile, there are still several unanswered concerns, such as how YouTube will organise and classify news or current events, potential revenue-generating issues, and standards for differentiating between clickbait and authentic videos. The tech company has also stated that the regulations will be put into effect in the upcoming months, though it has not given a precise date. There are also doubts over whether sports or other categories will be included in the events. In the upcoming weeks, we expect YouTube to provide more details.