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As it turns out there is a whole category in YouTubes ad system for Get-Rich-Quick schemes, as detailed out in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkhGJU

As it turns out there is a whole category in YouTubes ad system for Get-Rich-Quick schemes, as detailed out in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkhGJUTW3ag&t=1031s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkhGJUTW3ag&t=1031s (timestamped at the relevant time). Just today I saw my elderly father click on a YouTube ad link for a crypto scam copying Swedish televisions web layout he was reading it and I saw it at the corner of my eye. He has adblock installed, he disabled it because of the terms of service popup by YouTube. What is he supposed to do, create a google account and get premium instead? How about having safe ads so he doesn't have to figure out YouTube premium?

zerr 3y ago
Ad blocker can block that popup...
- JanneVee 3y ago
  Yeah if it is updated chrome plugin which Google of course delayed update on.
- alargemoose 3y ago
  Yes, but as of the last couple months. YouTube and ad blockers have been in a constant cat and mouse game where YouTube blocks users with an AD blocker from viewing content at all, until your ad blocker updates with new rules to circumvent that blocking. Trivial for you and I maybe, but less so for someone the GP described as “elderly”
- Balgair 3y ago
  > He has adblock installed, he disabled it because of the terms of service popup by YouTube.
verdverm 3y ago
> What is he supposed to do, create a google account and get premium instead? I just put my parents on my family plan, you should consider it, it's a very low price for the peace of mind, plus they love not having ads
- JanneVee 3y ago
  So basically I'm supposed to pay protection money? Yeah, I don't give into extortion...
  - verdverm 3y ago
    You can see it as extortion or... Paying for a product instead of being the product. Huge quality of life improvement. How is it different from paying for Netflix and similar?
    - JanneVee 3y ago
      Because YouTube takes money deliberately from criminals an ad supported version of Netflix would hardly have Get-Rich-Quick schemes advertised which you need to pay to avoid. Make no mistake, I've seen criminal scammer ads on YouTube.
    - mitthrowaway2 3y ago
      Does Netflix try to scam you if you don't subscribe to the premium tier? If it were ads for car insurance and lego, I don't think there would be the same concern.
    - wredue 3y ago
      [flagged]
      - CamperBob2 3y ago
        I dislike ads. But when I do see them, I'd prefer they were relevant to my interests. I might order an ADF4377 evaluation board, but I'm not going to be buying any feminine hygiene products or timeshares in Phoenix. So as far as I'm concerned, they can spy all they want. That horse left the stable years ago anyway. Just don't waste my time with ads on YouTube, and we won't have any beef. So far Google has held up their end of the bargain; we'll see if that remains true going forward.
hotpotamus 3y ago
> What is he supposed to do, create a google account and get premium instead? Yes? I've mostly quit watching YouTube (and really a lot of media) because the shear amount of it and the number of predatory dark patterns have just gotten to be too much for me (it's possible that I'm overly sensitive in some way). But if it's important to him, then maybe it's worth paying some money for the experience. Personally I'm trying to get back into reading/audiobooks.
- JanneVee 3y ago
  So I should just give up, have a talk about media habits with my parents and if they don't want to change, just hand YouTube the money? You freely admit that it is designed to be this bad and by giving them money actually just rewards their shitty behavior. I gave an example of a video showing how creators on YouTube can select which ads to show. Get-Rich-Quick is a category, YouTube could just take the decision to not carry those ads anymore and enforce violations as harshly as copyright strikes.
  - yellow_postit 3y ago
    Wanted to point out that “Just take the decision to not carry those ads” isn’t as easy when you’re at YT scale. Not excusing them but I think we all understand the challenges of content moderation at scale for organic content — now amplify that for paid content where the incentives get even thornier. Yes YT should invest more in review and policy work — but it’s a forever expanding cost with no silver bullet. I appreciate there’s a least a price and option for ads-free.
    - mitthrowaway2 3y ago
      In this case, they've already crowdsourced the review labor to their users, who correctly reported the ad!
    - JanneVee 3y ago
      The scale of paid content is much smaller than the general youtube scale. And they already have a categorization for it. Of course you could lie about the categorization of what you pay to YouTube to show unsuspecting people, but at least you run the risk of giving YouTube money and not getting shown because you violated their advertising policy. It would change the whole economics of running scams through ads.
Vrondi 3y ago
Install uBlock Origin on Firefox for him. Educate him not to click ads. Ever. If you emphasize long enough that clicking an ad can lose him his bank account and entire identity, it can sink in. I've spent years on this with my parents. "Yes, Dad, YouTube is out to get you, because they want money from advertisers, and they are happily selling your safety to advertisers."
- alacode 3y ago
  I'm in my early 60's, I guess when I was young I'd have called me elderly. I however, have been a technologist since I was around 9 years old, got it from my Dad. I'd say most my age even if not into technology aren't averse to it or unaware of it. But, there are definitely some elderly who really don't get technology at all and there are some in their 20's who are the same way. Those individuals need to be protected. The onus should be on the corporation more than the individual; not solely on the individual.
  - TheRealPomax 3y ago
    No, the onus should be on the law, because corporations will do nothing "for th greater good" if they're not forced to do so. The onus is on the individual to help other individuals around them that need it, and on the individual to petition their law makers to do what needs to be done. Putting the onus on the corporations is the one thing that's guaranteed, with a long and storied proven track record, of not working.
abracadaniel 3y ago
Even with adblock, I've had hijacked channels end up as the top search result. Most recently with the last SpaceX starship launch. Trying to find the livestream, I just searched SpaceX and the top hits were all fake channels with lots of subscribers, hosting the actual livestream, but with a big QR code to a crypto scam overlaid. It happens every time, with the same things, and has been reported many times. There's no way they don't know about it.
throwawayffffas 3y ago
> What is he supposed to do, create a google account and get premium instead? Go watch something else, somewhere else, another site, or you know tv or something.

zerr 3y ago

Ad blocker can block that popup...

JanneVee 3y ago
Yeah if it is updated chrome plugin which Google of course delayed update on.
alargemoose 3y ago
Yes, but as of the last couple months. YouTube and ad blockers have been in a constant cat and mouse game where YouTube blocks users with an AD blocker from viewing content at all, until your ad blocker updates with new rules to circumvent that blocking. Trivial for you and I maybe, but less so for someone the GP described as “elderly”
Balgair 3y ago
> He has adblock installed, he disabled it because of the terms of service popup by YouTube.

verdverm 3y ago

> What is he supposed to do, create a google account and get premium instead? I just put my parents on my family plan, you should consider it, it's a very low price for the peace of mind, plus they love not having ads

JanneVee 3y ago
So basically I'm supposed to pay protection money? Yeah, I don't give into extortion...
- verdverm 3y ago
  You can see it as extortion or... Paying for a product instead of being the product. Huge quality of life improvement. How is it different from paying for Netflix and similar?
  - JanneVee 3y ago
    Because YouTube takes money deliberately from criminals an ad supported version of Netflix would hardly have Get-Rich-Quick schemes advertised which you need to pay to avoid. Make no mistake, I've seen criminal scammer ads on YouTube.
  - mitthrowaway2 3y ago
    Does Netflix try to scam you if you don't subscribe to the premium tier? If it were ads for car insurance and lego, I don't think there would be the same concern.
  - wredue 3y ago
    [flagged]
    - CamperBob2 3y ago
      I dislike ads. But when I do see them, I'd prefer they were relevant to my interests. I might order an ADF4377 evaluation board, but I'm not going to be buying any feminine hygiene products or timeshares in Phoenix. So as far as I'm concerned, they can spy all they want. That horse left the stable years ago anyway. Just don't waste my time with ads on YouTube, and we won't have any beef. So far Google has held up their end of the bargain; we'll see if that remains true going forward.

hotpotamus 3y ago

> What is he supposed to do, create a google account and get premium instead? Yes? I've mostly quit watching YouTube (and really a lot of media) because the shear amount of it and the number of predatory dark patterns have just gotten to be too much for me (it's possible that I'm overly sensitive in some way). But if it's important to him, then maybe it's worth paying some money for the experience. Personally I'm trying to get back into reading/audiobooks.

JanneVee 3y ago
So I should just give up, have a talk about media habits with my parents and if they don't want to change, just hand YouTube the money? You freely admit that it is designed to be this bad and by giving them money actually just rewards their shitty behavior. I gave an example of a video showing how creators on YouTube can select which ads to show. Get-Rich-Quick is a category, YouTube could just take the decision to not carry those ads anymore and enforce violations as harshly as copyright strikes.
- yellow_postit 3y ago
  Wanted to point out that “Just take the decision to not carry those ads” isn’t as easy when you’re at YT scale. Not excusing them but I think we all understand the challenges of content moderation at scale for organic content — now amplify that for paid content where the incentives get even thornier. Yes YT should invest more in review and policy work — but it’s a forever expanding cost with no silver bullet. I appreciate there’s a least a price and option for ads-free.
  - mitthrowaway2 3y ago
    In this case, they've already crowdsourced the review labor to their users, who correctly reported the ad!
  - JanneVee 3y ago
    The scale of paid content is much smaller than the general youtube scale. And they already have a categorization for it. Of course you could lie about the categorization of what you pay to YouTube to show unsuspecting people, but at least you run the risk of giving YouTube money and not getting shown because you violated their advertising policy. It would change the whole economics of running scams through ads.

Vrondi 3y ago

Install uBlock Origin on Firefox for him. Educate him not to click ads. Ever. If you emphasize long enough that clicking an ad can lose him his bank account and entire identity, it can sink in. I've spent years on this with my parents. "Yes, Dad, YouTube is out to get you, because they want money from advertisers, and they are happily selling your safety to advertisers."

alacode 3y ago
I'm in my early 60's, I guess when I was young I'd have called me elderly. I however, have been a technologist since I was around 9 years old, got it from my Dad. I'd say most my age even if not into technology aren't averse to it or unaware of it. But, there are definitely some elderly who really don't get technology at all and there are some in their 20's who are the same way. Those individuals need to be protected. The onus should be on the corporation more than the individual; not solely on the individual.
- TheRealPomax 3y ago
  No, the onus should be on the law, because corporations will do nothing "for th greater good" if they're not forced to do so. The onus is on the individual to help other individuals around them that need it, and on the individual to petition their law makers to do what needs to be done. Putting the onus on the corporations is the one thing that's guaranteed, with a long and storied proven track record, of not working.

abracadaniel 3y ago

Even with adblock, I've had hijacked channels end up as the top search result. Most recently with the last SpaceX starship launch. Trying to find the livestream, I just searched SpaceX and the top hits were all fake channels with lots of subscribers, hosting the actual livestream, but with a big QR code to a crypto scam overlaid. It happens every time, with the same things, and has been reported many times. There's no way they don't know about it.

throwawayffffas 3y ago

> What is he supposed to do, create a google account and get premium instead? Go watch something else, somewhere else, another site, or you know tv or something.