YouTube removing public dislike counts to prevent ‘harassment’ of new creators
YouTube said smaller creators have been 'unfairly targeted' by dislike attacks
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YouTube will be removing public dislike counts from videos to prevent creators from harassment and dislike attacks, according to a company statement.
The streaming platform said the new feature was intended to promote "respectful interactions between viewers and creators."
Silhouettes of mobile device users are seen next to a screen projection of YouTube logo in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. (Reuters)
Going forward, viewers will still see the dislike button, but the dislike counts will not be visible to them. The company said internal research indicated that users were less likely to hit the dislike button if they could not see the dislike count.
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YouTube said smaller creators, those who are just starting out, have been "unfairly targeted" by dislike attacks. It cited an experiment that showed dislike attacks occur at a higher proportion on smaller channels.
A woman interact with the YouTube app. on an iPhone . (iStock)
Creators will still be able to see their exact dislike counts in YouTube Studio, along with other existing metrics, if they want insights into how their content is performing, the company said.
Youtube logo on iPad screen. (iStock)
"We know that you might not agree with this decision, but we believe that this is the right thing to do for the platform," YouTube said. "We want to create an inclusive and respectful environment where creators have the opportunity to succeed and feel safe to express themselves."
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The new change began Wednesday and will be gradually rolled out across the platform.