YouTube to Ban Clickbait Videos from Content Creators in India: Will This Impact Your Channel?

Combating bait on YouTube: YouTube is stepping up its fight against misleading content in India. The company has announced new measures to tackle 'egregious bait' content on YouTube.

Simply put, YouTube is increasing its enforcement against videos where the title or thumbnail promises viewers something that the video doesn't deliver or is different from the contents of a video. YouTube says that its move is particularly important in case of video topics such as breaking news or current events,

YouTube crackdown: But what is 'egregious bait' content?

According to Google, egregious bait content includes the videos with titles or thumbnails that promise or claim something that isn't delivered within the video itself, especially in case of the content that 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," YouTube wrote in a blog post announcing the development.

"A video title saying “the president resigned!” where the video doesn’t address the president’s resignation," the company added in its post citing an example.

YouTube crackdown: What is the company doing to tackle 'egregious bait content'?

YouTube has said that it will start penalising content creators in India for misleading content. However, the company will also give the Indian content creators time to adjust to the changes. In the meantime, the company will remove content that violates YouTube's updated policy without issuing a strike.

For the unversed, YouTube issues a strike on videos that violate its policies. YouTube issues its first strike when a video that doesn't follow its policy is published within a week. It prohibits content creatoers from uploading or livestreaming videos, scheduling videos and adding or removing a playlist. Getting a second strike within the 90-day period as the first strike prohibits content creators from posting video for two weeks. Getting a third strike in the 90-day-period of the first strike can lead to the channel being removed permanently.

YouTube has said that it will start rolling out this change in India over the coming months.

YouTube crackdown: How will the company's new policy impact content creators and users in India?

To start with, YouTube will remove egregious bait videos without issuing strikes to creators. This will give content creators time to adjust to its new policies. As the enforcement progresses, the company will focus on removing bait content in newly uploaded videos. In the long term, the company is expected to use AI tools to combat videos with misleading titles and thumbnails. It is also expected to provide resources and guidance to help creators understand the new policy and adjust their content to avoid bait practices.

On the user front, YouTube's new policy is aimed at tacking misinformation on its platform. It will also penalise content creators who continue to publish misleading content on its platform.