6 ms·

> We’ve also heard directly from smaller creators, and those just getting started with their YouTube channel, that they are unfairly targeted by dislike attacks

> We’ve also heard directly from smaller creators, and those just getting started with their YouTube channel, that they are unfairly targeted by dislike attacks Wow. Well, the politically motivated truth behind this change is pretty darn obvious, right? If you're confused what I mean, check any US mainstream media video with an obvious political slant but pretending to be "objective news" and look at the like/dislike ratio. The system is totally working...except it isn't working out well for the political party that YT would prefer. The more striking thing to me is how little effort they put into the cover excuse. IMO this just shows they don't really care about the optics of censoring speech or letting users flag propaganda. Quite brazen.

irthomasthomas 5y ago
It's cute how many commenters are not aware of this. https://mobile.twitter.com/FRANK_SINATRA7/status/1458481838033416197 https://mobile.twitter.com/FRANK_SINATRA7/status/14584818380...
- tomstockmail 5y ago
  This only proves the point to remove the dislikes as clearly those are coordinated dislike attacks. The subject matter in that video doesn't even have anything worth liking or disliking; it was pretty standard stuff. The screenshot you show has the person shown disliking it - whomever took the screenshot has an agenda. And that Twitter account speaks for itself.
  - irthomasthomas 5y ago
    Any proof of that? I really can't see how google would be vulnerable to bots and brigading. I mean, you can't use vpns or tor on google apps without solving annoying puzzles.
pcwalton 5y ago
Every video that correctly describes the benefits of the COVID vaccine and makes it to the front page is spammed with dislikes, and this constitutes a major threat to public health. No, this is actually a very important change.
- oliv__ 5y ago
  Whose public health exactly? The people who have willingly chosen not to take the vaccine? Or are you meaning we must "protect the vaccinated from the unvaccinated"?
  - pcwalton 5y ago
    I'm not interested in debating antivax propaganda.
    - bequanna 5y ago
      Absolutely. It is so much easier to just silence your opposition.
    - oliv__ 5y ago
      If it's public health you're so interested in, you might want to get the "public" on board with your ideas, lest you be on the side of propaganda.
      - pcwalton 5y ago
        The public is broadly on board with vaccines, including mandates [1]. The entire problem is that COVID videos are spammed by an unrepresentative group of antivaxxers. [1]: https://news.gallup.com/poll/354506/update-american-public-opinion-vaccination-requirements.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/354506/update-american-public-o...
- bequanna 5y ago
  Ah, right. We must censor speech for the "greater good". The underclass must not be allowed to organize or disseminate "dangerous" ideas.
  - Quarrelsome 5y ago
    you can still leave a shitty comment, its just your negative feedback in the binary only goes to the publisher to show them that they have missed the mark as opposed to signalling behaviour to others (still possible with comments).
nojs 5y ago
It also serves Google’s long term interest in being able to feed you content according to their own objectives with less transparency, similar to the FB newsfeed.
TAKEMYMONEY 5y ago
The change has been in the works since 2019 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/02/youtube-doesnt-like-dislike-mobs-will-try-to-prevent-dislike-button-abuse/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/02/youtube-doesnt-like-... Was it "politically motivated" then? Or just when it confirms your own biases (now)?
- bequanna 5y ago
  > Was it "politically motivated" then? Absolutely. 2019 was only 2 years ago. YT's politics are the same now as they were then. Also, "dislike mobs" are hardly a thing at all. Almost always a large number of dislikes on content like "rewind" videos expresses widespread genuine disapproval of content. In the rewind example, users likely found this content cringy and felt pandered to.
  - TAKEMYMONEY 5y ago
    So they knew Biden's YouTube videos would get dislikes years ahead of time? Here's evidence of a dislike mob being organized: https://libredd.it/r/Conservative/comments/l2d9ma/youtube_deletes_portion_of_dislikes_from_biden/gk51weq/?context=3 https://libredd.it/r/Conservative/comments/l2d9ma/youtube_de... Here's more evidence of widespread abuse by the right wing: https://www.thedailybeast.com/leaked-the-alt-right-playbook-for-taking-over-youtube https://www.thedailybeast.com/leaked-the-alt-right-playbook-... You're so out of the loop, I can understand why you are confused. > Almost always a large number of dislikes on content like "rewind" videos expresses widespread genuine disapproval of content Go ahead and post your evidence please.
    - kipchak 5y ago
      >Almost always a large number of dislikes on content like "rewind" videos expresses widespread genuine disapproval of content Presumably he's referring to this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbJOTdZBX1g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbJOTdZBX1g
    - will4274 5y ago
      I knew Biden's YouTube videos would get dislikes years ahead of time. It's hardly a shocking conclusion. He's old, boring, out of touch, and wildly disliked by both the far left and the entire right.
feoren 5y ago
> an obvious political slant I think it's worth really pondering this phrase. It's the kind of thing people just toss out without really thinking about what it means, in the hopes that it will produce automatic head-nods from the reader. When you are so deeply, heavily, unwaveringly invested in a very specific idea to the extent that anything that slightly disagrees with that idea has an "obvious political slant", you are literally brainwashed. I know that's an overused accusation, but it's hard to define "brainwashed" any other way; you've decided that your very small bubble of beliefs is the truth, and therefore any video that doesn't 100% conform to it is "obviously" politically biased and full of lies. And what does "politically" even mean? That word has just lost all meaning. Politics is just anything that affects people's lives. The reality is that everything related to COVID or vaccines that isn't 100% Q-anon Trumpist cult-thumping is currently brigaded with downvotes. Do you not see the irony in rejecting everything outside of your bubble as obvious lies, while simultaneously calling for less censorship? All you're really saying is: we want every idea censored except for ours. You used the word "obvious" twice, and the whole post has a "you know what I mean; wink wink, nudge nudge" vibe to it. I know I won't change your mind, but I just think it's worth pointing out to others to really just notice how weird that use of language really is. The Q-anon thought-virus is real and it has evolved to be very good at what it does. This kind of language is part of its infection mechanism. It's worth really examining.
- bequanna 5y ago
  Ha, I love that! My comment seems to suggest that maybe I am right-leaning and you sneak in a reference to Q-anon! Genius!
- celdon25 5y ago
  I can only imagine how such a speech would look like in the form of a YouTube video. Go for it! Tell us the dislike ratio.
Loughla 5y ago
>Wow. Well, the politically motivated truth behind this change is pretty darn obvious, right? I still am very confused by what you mean and what you're getting at with this.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- bequanna 5y ago
  Please read the sentence right below the one you copy + pasted: > If you're confused what I mean, check any US mainstream media video with an obvious political slant but pretending to be "objective news" and look at the like/dislike ratio. The system is totally working...except it isn't working out well for the political party that YT would prefer. In other words: People are disliking obvious political propaganda that YT would prefer that you like.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
nouveaux 5y ago
Sorry I must have missed something. The quote you're addressing talks about smaller creators. Wouldn't this apply to smaller creators from both parties?
- bequanna 5y ago
  The point of my comment is that the stated reason for this change is quite obviously bullshit.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
dools 5y ago
By aligning themselves with a fact free version of reality, the conservative/libertarian hybrid movement that has captured the right have put themselves politically against anyone who is interested in truth or objective reality. This big tech by that definition aligns with “the left”. However in reality YouTube has no political bias.

irthomasthomas 5y ago

It's cute how many commenters are not aware of this. https://mobile.twitter.com/FRANK_SINATRA7/status/1458481838033416197 https://mobile.twitter.com/FRANK_SINATRA7/status/14584818380...

tomstockmail 5y ago
This only proves the point to remove the dislikes as clearly those are coordinated dislike attacks. The subject matter in that video doesn't even have anything worth liking or disliking; it was pretty standard stuff. The screenshot you show has the person shown disliking it - whomever took the screenshot has an agenda. And that Twitter account speaks for itself.
- irthomasthomas 5y ago
  Any proof of that? I really can't see how google would be vulnerable to bots and brigading. I mean, you can't use vpns or tor on google apps without solving annoying puzzles.

pcwalton 5y ago

Every video that correctly describes the benefits of the COVID vaccine and makes it to the front page is spammed with dislikes, and this constitutes a major threat to public health. No, this is actually a very important change.

oliv__ 5y ago
Whose public health exactly? The people who have willingly chosen not to take the vaccine? Or are you meaning we must "protect the vaccinated from the unvaccinated"?
- pcwalton 5y ago
  I'm not interested in debating antivax propaganda.
  - bequanna 5y ago
    Absolutely. It is so much easier to just silence your opposition.
  - oliv__ 5y ago
    If it's public health you're so interested in, you might want to get the "public" on board with your ideas, lest you be on the side of propaganda.
    - pcwalton 5y ago
      The public is broadly on board with vaccines, including mandates [1]. The entire problem is that COVID videos are spammed by an unrepresentative group of antivaxxers. [1]: https://news.gallup.com/poll/354506/update-american-public-opinion-vaccination-requirements.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/354506/update-american-public-o...
bequanna 5y ago
Ah, right. We must censor speech for the "greater good". The underclass must not be allowed to organize or disseminate "dangerous" ideas.
- Quarrelsome 5y ago
  you can still leave a shitty comment, its just your negative feedback in the binary only goes to the publisher to show them that they have missed the mark as opposed to signalling behaviour to others (still possible with comments).

nojs 5y ago

It also serves Google’s long term interest in being able to feed you content according to their own objectives with less transparency, similar to the FB newsfeed.

TAKEMYMONEY 5y ago

The change has been in the works since 2019 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/02/youtube-doesnt-like-dislike-mobs-will-try-to-prevent-dislike-button-abuse/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/02/youtube-doesnt-like-... Was it "politically motivated" then? Or just when it confirms your own biases (now)?

bequanna 5y ago
> Was it "politically motivated" then? Absolutely. 2019 was only 2 years ago. YT's politics are the same now as they were then. Also, "dislike mobs" are hardly a thing at all. Almost always a large number of dislikes on content like "rewind" videos expresses widespread genuine disapproval of content. In the rewind example, users likely found this content cringy and felt pandered to.
- TAKEMYMONEY 5y ago
  So they knew Biden's YouTube videos would get dislikes years ahead of time? Here's evidence of a dislike mob being organized: https://libredd.it/r/Conservative/comments/l2d9ma/youtube_deletes_portion_of_dislikes_from_biden/gk51weq/?context=3 https://libredd.it/r/Conservative/comments/l2d9ma/youtube_de... Here's more evidence of widespread abuse by the right wing: https://www.thedailybeast.com/leaked-the-alt-right-playbook-for-taking-over-youtube https://www.thedailybeast.com/leaked-the-alt-right-playbook-... You're so out of the loop, I can understand why you are confused. > Almost always a large number of dislikes on content like "rewind" videos expresses widespread genuine disapproval of content Go ahead and post your evidence please.
  - kipchak 5y ago
    >Almost always a large number of dislikes on content like "rewind" videos expresses widespread genuine disapproval of content Presumably he's referring to this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbJOTdZBX1g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbJOTdZBX1g
  - will4274 5y ago
    I knew Biden's YouTube videos would get dislikes years ahead of time. It's hardly a shocking conclusion. He's old, boring, out of touch, and wildly disliked by both the far left and the entire right.

feoren 5y ago

> an obvious political slant I think it's worth really pondering this phrase. It's the kind of thing people just toss out without really thinking about what it means, in the hopes that it will produce automatic head-nods from the reader. When you are so deeply, heavily, unwaveringly invested in a very specific idea to the extent that anything that slightly disagrees with that idea has an "obvious political slant", you are literally brainwashed. I know that's an overused accusation, but it's hard to define "brainwashed" any other way; you've decided that your very small bubble of beliefs is the truth, and therefore any video that doesn't 100% conform to it is "obviously" politically biased and full of lies. And what does "politically" even mean? That word has just lost all meaning. Politics is just anything that affects people's lives. The reality is that everything related to COVID or vaccines that isn't 100% Q-anon Trumpist cult-thumping is currently brigaded with downvotes. Do you not see the irony in rejecting everything outside of your bubble as obvious lies, while simultaneously calling for less censorship? All you're really saying is: we want every idea censored except for ours. You used the word "obvious" twice, and the whole post has a "you know what I mean; wink wink, nudge nudge" vibe to it. I know I won't change your mind, but I just think it's worth pointing out to others to really just notice how weird that use of language really is. The Q-anon thought-virus is real and it has evolved to be very good at what it does. This kind of language is part of its infection mechanism. It's worth really examining.

bequanna 5y ago
Ha, I love that! My comment seems to suggest that maybe I am right-leaning and you sneak in a reference to Q-anon! Genius!
celdon25 5y ago
I can only imagine how such a speech would look like in the form of a YouTube video. Go for it! Tell us the dislike ratio.

Loughla 5y ago

>Wow. Well, the politically motivated truth behind this change is pretty darn obvious, right? I still am very confused by what you mean and what you're getting at with this.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
bequanna 5y ago
Please read the sentence right below the one you copy + pasted: > If you're confused what I mean, check any US mainstream media video with an obvious political slant but pretending to be "objective news" and look at the like/dislike ratio. The system is totally working...except it isn't working out well for the political party that YT would prefer. In other words: People are disliking obvious political propaganda that YT would prefer that you like.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

nouveaux 5y ago

Sorry I must have missed something. The quote you're addressing talks about smaller creators. Wouldn't this apply to smaller creators from both parties?

bequanna 5y ago
The point of my comment is that the stated reason for this change is quite obviously bullshit.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

dools 5y ago

By aligning themselves with a fact free version of reality, the conservative/libertarian hybrid movement that has captured the right have put themselves politically against anyone who is interested in truth or objective reality. This big tech by that definition aligns with “the left”. However in reality YouTube has no political bias.