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Yes, I understand that a regex isn't a long-term solution, but if you've actually seen any of these pop up on YouTube (they're on the front page of my recommend
by curiousgeorgio 5y ago
Yes, I understand that a regex isn't a long-term solution, but if you've actually seen any of these pop up on YouTube (they're on the front page of my recommendations right now; I've seen probably 30 just today), you'll know what I'm talking about. These are what I'd call "low-hanging fruit" spam – extremely easily distinguished from real content. After months of it happening (and I've seen literally hundreds of the exact same type of video recommended to me), a simple solution would undoubtedly be effective, or at least better than nothing. Get a single intern to double-check the ones that your algorithm identifies to avoid FPs. If the scammers get more sophisticated, cross that bridge when you get to it. But solve the immediate, easy issues now. It's seriously not that hard. This isn't the kind of difficult ML-generated spam that you're probably thinking of, and I agree - at that point it does become a game of cat and mouse. At that point, I'd be understanding when it sneaks through the cracks.
I've dealt with similar issues in my own work (I run a platform with a lot of content posted daily and have multiple tiers of spam control in place). The spam I'm seeing on YouTube is not the difficult kind, yet they're doing nothing to deter it. That's my complaint.
I've probably reported hundreds of these, so at the very least, stop recommending videos with the exact same title, description and content to me. It's ridiculous.
- chrisseaton 5y ago> they're on the front page of my recommendations right now Can you share some examples? I’ve never seen what you’re taking about. My front page is all channels I subscribe to.
- curiousgeorgio 5y agohttps://imgur.com/a/vzGvyvS https://imgur.com/a/vzGvyvS Even if spam detection didn't flag this stuff, their content ID system should be able to identify it as content stolen from other channels (with a fake tweet added at the top), then calling it "live".
- chrisseaton 5y agoI can’t find that video even by specifically searching for it! Maybe it is suppressed for most users and something about your viewing profile opts you in? I’ve never seen anything like this video or anything else that looks like a scam on YouTube. Everything on my recommended page is pretty relevant to my interests and seems legitimate.
- curiousgeorgio 5y agoIt's probably been removed since I posted the image, but I think that's what the scammers are doing: posting them so frequently that when they get taken down, another one takes its place - hence the need for something to algorithmically block them before relying on user reporting. Correction: the video is still up, ID is "qoFPBms-7g4" Others currently broadcasting similar scams: BbUnrpFd5do 5VOQXRrfibE fVNbM8mKHUU M5dBA-01K88
- hamiltonians 5y agoThe scammers are playing 50 minutes of non-scam/stock footage at the beginning of the videos to throw of the scam-detection algo. example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAE0Ib2V7Yk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAE0Ib2V7Yk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OuVNQfi3h4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OuVNQfi3h4
- pwinnski 5y ago> I've seen probably 30 just today > Get a single intern to double-check the ones that your algorithm identifies to avoid FPs I think you seriously, dramatically misestimate the scale at which both YouTube and the scammers in question are operating. By orders of magnitude, probably.