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YouTube doesn't want to take down scam ads

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Re: YouTube doesn't want to take down scam ads

#311

Post by BobaFloutist »

KMnO4 wrote: post #256
bambax wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> YouTube is a monopoly and is addictive Youtube is indeed a monopoly -- but it's not actually addictive. Since they started this war against adblockers I have found that I can perfectly live without it. When I absolutely would like to watch an informative video (for example, about how to fix something on my bike, etc.), I first try to open the video in a private window (with ublock on); if that also doesn't work I t…

> but it's not actually addictive Youtube is definitely addictive to a large population of people. If you can live without it, the only thing we can infer is that it's not addictive to you .

Maybe it's habit-forming but not addictive?

Re: YouTube doesn't want to take down scam ads

#312

Post by BobaFloutist »

GuB-42 wrote: post #305
passwordoops wrote: post #5

They're all like that. A whole back I reported an obvious real estate scam using Wayne Gretzky and some Blue Jays player (I'm in Canada). The reply was it didn't break any policy. When ads are the primary source of revenue, there's zero incentive to police the platform

But then, it there is no incentive to police the platform, there should be sexual content in ads, and yet, I don't even remember seeing ads for vibrators or other "soft" adult stuff. I don't remember seeing ads for weapons either. There are scams, but not many obvious counterfeits. To be fair, I block ads, so I don't see many, but the few times I don't have them blocked, they are usually the kind you see on TV: big b…

There are ads for sports betting though, which is absolutely "adult", it's just less likely to trigger culture-war arguments.

Re: YouTube doesn't want to take down scam ads

#313

Post by givemeethekeys »

passwordoops wrote: post #5

They're all like that. A whole back I reported an obvious real estate scam using Wayne Gretzky and some Blue Jays player (I'm in Canada). The reply was it didn't break any policy. When ads are the primary source of revenue, there's zero incentive to police the platform

They definitely police the platform. They make sure that anyone who uploads content that threatens ad revenue is appropriately disciplined.

Re: YouTube doesn't want to take down scam ads

#314

Post by raphman »

tivert wrote: post #163

I love scam youtube ads. Some of them are so bad, they're good. I especially like the ones that layer in a totally fake creation story, like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRl2aGUlu04 .

Hah, these magic-heater ads seems to be more common than I thought. In another comment in this thread, I just linked to a different one (in German):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WorrpfjAYdc

Yours is much more interesting though.

Here's Big Clive doing a teardown on the device in your video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPnLnk35XsY

Re: YouTube doesn't want to take down scam ads

#315

Post by raphman »

tivert wrote: post #176
Arie wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Got that one as well a bunch of time with 2 fake dutch inventors. Reported it, got denied because Youtube thinks it's fine to promote a scam like that.

Got a link to the ads?

Replied to you elsewhere but this might be a German version of the ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WorrpfjAYdc

Re: YouTube doesn't want to take down scam ads

#316

Post by tzfld »

TrackerFF wrote: post #136

I've noticed a huge uptick in the most obvious scams, when using my work PC (no ad-block!). Typical deepfakes of celebrities, where they've stolen some clip, and get the person to promote some crypto scam. It's laughable. Imagine being 80, and seeing Warren Buffet or Bill Gates on youtube promoting some random crypto brokerage, saying that you can create generational wealth TODAY! Since it's on youtube, it must be le…

What if those ads appear on small websites and delivered by ad platforms like adsense? Who is liable?

Re: YouTube doesn't want to take down scam ads

#317

Post by mandmandam »

gambiting wrote: post #203
loudmax wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had mostly the same success, but it's disconcerting that I even have to block those guys to begin with. Also, at this point the suggestion algorithm seems close to worthless. My Youtube suggestion feed is either channels that I already follow, or whose videos I've watched recently, or complete garbage. Any worthwhile new channels or videos, I've have to seek out for myself.

Well, it could always be worse - it could be Facebook's recommendation algorithm! I literally block right wing/extremist content on my feed every single day, my blocked list must be hundreds if not thousands of items long, and it just doesn't get a hint, there's more of that stuff every single day. I suspect that Facebook just doesn't care because according to their stats it drives engagement, even if it's negative u…

> I suspect that Facebook just doesn't care because according to their stats it drives engagement

That's part of it, but I'm certain there's more to it.

I've seen too many people and pages get their reach cut 100 fold over the last 7 or so years. The content was very engaging, had lots of likes and comments, then boom, they all started going from 5 or 6 figure posts down to 2 and 3 figures. Marianne Williamson, for example, hit 10% support nationally - then her Facebook posts went from 6 figures to 3 in a day.

Take Gaza, and the global calls for a ceasefire. Despite huge engagement, and the strong support of the vast majority of every countries population (bar Israel itself), I've seen virtually nothing about it on Facebook. On LinkedIn I've seen 1 single post concerning it since October 7th, and it had 0 likes. That's not natural. No fucking way.

Re: YouTube doesn't want to take down scam ads

#318

Post by freeAgent »

kjkjadksj wrote: post #253
segphault wrote: post #32

I routinely see ads for fake medical treatments that they refuse to take these down when I report them despite the fact that the ads obviously violate Google's policies. So many of the ads on YouTube are for things that are obviously sketchy that when I see a new product I'm not familiar with for the first time in YouTube ad I just assume it is a scam. It's crazy because YouTube has probably more information about th…

Product reviews are useless these days. Every single one they give a glowing review because there is this fear of alienating the manufacturer and not getting future product to review. I haven’t seen an actual critical review in years probably. They are all these ads with a layer of separation to fool you.

Yeah, it used to be bad enough. Now it’s terrible. Almost no reviews can be trusted now because the market power of reviewers has been eroded to the point where producers can and do treat any individual reviewer, and all of them in aggregate, as extensions of their own marketing departments. The powerless “reviewers” let this happen because if they go against the grain, they’ll be blacklisted and become even more irrelevant. I’m extremely selective these days about whose advice I place any trust in. I’ve found that I frequently wait on new products until they e been in real people’s hands for a bit and then search for their complaints.

Re: YouTube doesn't want to take down scam ads

#319

Post by michaelteter »

raphman wrote: post #301
michaelteter wrote: post #291

There's one ad that sounds like Donald Trump (it's an AI voice gen) promoting Donald Trump gold bars. It's not a short ad; I've seen it several times, so one of the times I recorded it. At the end, there's a brief display which says: "Disclaimer. This ad and it's entirety is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Donald Trump or any political party associated with him. The content and views expressed o…

> "It's not a short ad; I've seen it several times, so one of the times I recorded it." FWIW, YouTube ads are just normal, unlisted videos. You can get their ID by: - right-clicking on the video while the ad is playing, - selecting 'Stats for nerds', - copying the 'Video ID' from the debug info in the top left corner, - appending this ID to ' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= ' This also allows you to see the account…

Ahh thanks for the guide.

Also, I've seen the scam heater ad as well. It's obviously bogus, but unfortunately a lot of people will fall for it. I guess if the ad weren't driving sales, they wouldn't still be running versions of it.

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