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If anyone at YouTube Trust & Safety is reading this article, I've got a real problem for you to solve. There are channels that exist solely to pump out AI slop
by tmoertel 11mo ago
If anyone at YouTube Trust & Safety is reading this article, I've got a real problem for you to solve.
There are channels that exist solely to pump out AI slop seemingly designed to trick gullible seniors into identifying themselves in the comments. I suspect the scammers will go after these people later in pig-butchering or related scams.
For example, the “Senior Secrets” channel pumps out videos such as “Over 60? Add THIS Powder To Your Coffee To Walk like You’re 40 Again! | Senior Health Tips.” (I won’t link to the video, but you can easily find it with a search.) The video makes bold health claims justified by citing what appear to be scholarly research studies, such as:
> University of California, San Francisco (2023). "Mobility Enhancement Through Nutritional Supplementation in Older Adults." Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, Volume 78, pp. 445-453.
However, none of the cited studies and papers are real.
The deeply concerning thing is that the video’s narrator invites the seniors who are duped by these claims to identify themselves and reveal their age and locations in the comments. From the transcript at 1m44s:
> "Before we begin, tell us in the comments now your age and where you're watching us from. We're reading and replying to every single comment, so drop your comments below."
I’ve already reported this content to YT, but I’ve seen no apparent follow-up.
Disclaimer: I used to work at Google, but not in anything YouTube related. If you’re in YT and want to reach out, my contact info is in my HN profile.
- jagged-chisel 11mo agoI’m curious to hear whether any YouTubians[O] take you up on that. 0 - idk. Can’t call employees “YouTubers”
- chipsrafferty 11mo agoThey don't care. There's a ridiculous amount of AI slop on YouTube.
- tmoertel 11mo agoThis isn't merely AI slop. This is AI slop that appears to have been designed to specifically target a vulnerable audience for the purpose of later running financial scams against them. It ought to be in a different category altogether.
- lozenge 11mo agoAge and city isn't all that identifying, I don't see anything useful there that isn't already in census etc. They are just doing it because YouTube promotes highly commented videos, hence the old saying "like, comment and subscribe"
- tmoertel 11mo agoIt's not the age and location that are concerning. It's that the seniors who are especially susceptible to being misled will identify themselves as such. Further, if you look at the comments from these seniors, their YT usernames often reveal their real names.