Youtube has announced it will no longer show the amount of “dislikes” on videos, in a new move to “reduce targeted dislike attacks and their impact on creators”.
Starting from today, users will no longer see a public dislike count, however they will still be able to register a thumbs down on the video for the uploader to view in private.
“This comes after lots of research, testing and consideration,” Youtube announced this morning.
The move reflects Instagram’s now-redacted strategy to remove “likes” counts from posts to apparently “minimise the stress of posting online”.
Creators will still be able to see dislike counts for the Community tab in YouTube Studio, alongside dislike counts for live streams.
“Unfortunately, research teams at Youtube have found there is this whole other use of disliking a video that I have never experienced,” Creator Liaison at Youtube Matt Koval said. “Groups of users have been targeting the dislike button to drive up the count, turning it into something of a game with a physical scoreboard.”
Koval concluded the trend was simply “because they don’t like the creator or what they stand for”.
“That’s a big problem when half of Youtube’s mission is to give everyone a voice,” he said.
Critics were quick to weigh in on the big change, slamming the company for removing one of the few tools users have to determine the quality of videos.
Some small creators refuted the move would help their cause, suggesting the removal of the public likes count would only further prompt trolls to comment abuse instead.
Others suggested the platform’s move was to boost views for corporate channels, which traditionally receive a colder reception from the online community.
Teen Wolf director Stephen Ford was particularly critical this morning, accusing Youtube of “appeasing those entities”.
“They are removing it because entertainment, government, and media channels are constantly being downvoted. This is to appease those entities and boost watch time,” he said.
The YouTube dislike button is the best way for the platform to self-police. It tells us what isn’t of decent quality, what is full of misinformation or isn’t worth our time. This will hurt the platform. We already have the option to turn off likes why must you take it away fully?— Stephen Ford (@StephenSeanFord) November 10, 2021