YouTube Is Removing All Dislike Counts On Its Platform To Protect Creators
Image ID 214439111 © via Vladyslav Yushynov | Dreamstime.com
YouTube has announced it will be hiding dislike counts on all videos, making the statistics only viewable to the uploader.
The actual button will remain in place, and viewers can still indicate their dislike for a video, in order for more accurate feed recommendations.
According to NBC News, the video streaming platform decided on the change after conducting an experiment earlier this year. It found that hiding the dislike counts on a video helped protect creators against “dislike attacks,” which occurs when viewers dislike a video intentionally.
YouTube’s researchers reported that when the dislike count was hidden, viewers were “less likely to target a video’s dislike button to drive up the count.”
“In short, our experiment data showed a reduction in dislike attacking behavior. We also heard directly from smaller creators and those just getting started that they are unfairly targeted by this behavior — and our experiment confirmed that this does occur at a higher proportion on smaller channels,” the site said.
This change will be gradually rolled out starting this week, in hopes that it will create a more inclusive and respectful environment in which content creators can express their ideas safely.
[via NBC News, cover image via Vladyslav Yushynov | Dreamstime.com]
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