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The scam YouTube ads are getting better

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Re: The scam YouTube ads are getting better

#51

Post by interestica »

We are in for a hell of a year.

Talked about this today with a friend after a few different ads designed to look like they were news stories from the CBC (and also included interviews with Elon Musk). The audio (voice recreation) and lip sync are getting really good, really fast. But this is more a question of YouTube not having mechanisms to prevent (or at least quickly remove) blatant impersonation (especially of news sites). Unmoving news logos in the lower third seem like ideal candidates for identification/verification.

Re: The scam YouTube ads are getting better

#52

Post by ToucanLoucan »

srg0 wrote: post #47

At some point platforms should be held responsible for the ads they run and the damages they cause. If the ad is to be broadcasted to thousands of people, or worse targets groups of people, it's reasonable that it must be approved and vetted by the platform. The cost of such vetting, even if done manually by a human, is likely a fraction of what is the cost of creating an ad anyway. If necessary Google can charge adv…

That should be all points really. Why are you suddenly, as a platform holder, not responsible for the content you host if money changes hands for you to host it first? That makes no sense, you are still the party putting that content in front of an audience, and as part of a contractual arrangement no less.

Re: The scam YouTube ads are getting better

#53

Post by 15457345234 »

chankstein38 wrote: post #24
madeofpalk wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are celebrity endorsements actually useful for building trust? Usually i view them in a negative light, thinking that they just paid someone to promote the product, rather that a genuine and organic endorsement.

Agreed I've never seen a celebrity endorse something and thought "Ah they clearly actually love this product so it must be good!"

It works incredibly well, that's why it keeps happening. Most people do follow pretty much exactly that thought process.

Merely by participating on this forum etc etc etc

Re: The scam YouTube ads are getting better

#54

Post by ThrowawayIP »

srg0 wrote: post #47

At some point platforms should be held responsible for the ads they run and the damages they cause. If the ad is to be broadcasted to thousands of people, or worse targets groups of people, it's reasonable that it must be approved and vetted by the platform. The cost of such vetting, even if done manually by a human, is likely a fraction of what is the cost of creating an ad anyway. If necessary Google can charge adv…

I think that a good way to do this would be a triple-poison pill approach. Google et. al. are capable of policing the advertisements on it's platform, there is just not the business will to do it.

The triple poison pill approach: * Every user-report of a scam ad must be reviewed by an independent barred lawyer for a minimum of 15 minutes of actual time.

* If a person (institution, etc) with a public image is shown in the scam ad, they must be notified and should the advertiser and platform should share joint liability.

* If a person falls for a scam, they should have recourse against the platform and the advertiser.

Re: The scam YouTube ads are getting better

#55

Post by wruza »

dbmajorkey wrote: post #2

A long time ago, my grandmother got a call one day saying that I was hurt badly and needed money. That I was afraid to contact my parents because I had been doing something I shouldn't have, and all my grandmother needed to do was send money to this hospital, which was just some scammers fake information. I hate scammers. The idea that now you will be able to create videos, that interact and respond to questions, as…

Instruct (pun not intended) your relatives to always hang up and call you back and use something from your past as a test. Some story from your life that is family-only knowledge. And explain that you aren’t the type who gets into “money situations”, and that in general “money from relatives now, or else” is not how even the less legal part of the world works.

[Grand]parents take it seriously because they don’t usually know anything about these extremities to counter the scammer pressure. Information is fortification.

Also add them to do-not-disturb bypass list if not yet.

Re: The scam YouTube ads are getting better

#56

Post by micromacrofoot »

This is going to get worse (better) outside of YouTube too...

Imagine a scammer calling grandma and recording a few minutes of her voice, and then using that to generate a fake voice to scam you in realtime.

I imagine that we'll need to come up with safe words or security questions to verify we're talking to our own families at some point. People in high risk scenarios already do this sometimes... they'll have a distress signal that indicates to someone on the other side of the call that they're in trouble "don't forget to feel Wolfie" when their dog's name is Rex or something.

Re: The scam YouTube ads are getting better

#57

Post by phailhaus »

coffeebeqn wrote: post #31
phailhaus wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Creators don't want scam ads on their videos. It hurts YouTube's image, which hurts their bottom line.

There is not really anywhere for the creators to go so they don’t really have any leverage. If you’re mad at YouTube you can go to an alternative and get 100-1000x less traffic and revenue. And some other obnoxious creator will take your spot on YouTube immediately

YouTube still has an brand image to uphold for users. Scam ads make it look cheap.

Re: The scam YouTube ads are getting better

#58

Post by mlrtime »

srg0 wrote: post #47

At some point platforms should be held responsible for the ads they run and the damages they cause. If the ad is to be broadcasted to thousands of people, or worse targets groups of people, it's reasonable that it must be approved and vetted by the platform. The cost of such vetting, even if done manually by a human, is likely a fraction of what is the cost of creating an ad anyway. If necessary Google can charge adv…

What is also frustrating is that it seems very easy to get takedowns due to DMCA. However these ads seem to stay up longer than necessary.

Re: The scam YouTube ads are getting better

#59

Post by phailhaus »

Mordisquitos wrote: post #22
phailhaus wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Creators don't want scam ads on their videos. It hurts YouTube's image, which hurts their bottom line.

You would need a mass exodus of top YouTube creators to make the slightest dent on YouTube's bottom line. Meanwhile, any top YouTube creator leaving YouTube (to what alternative?) isn't hurting his or her bottom line, but rather nuking it from orbit.

It's not a sudden mass exodus they care about, but a slow decline in their brand's perception for users. Scam ads make YouTube look shady.

Re: The scam YouTube ads are getting better

#60

Post by pflenker »

dbmajorkey wrote: post #2

A long time ago, my grandmother got a call one day saying that I was hurt badly and needed money. That I was afraid to contact my parents because I had been doing something I shouldn't have, and all my grandmother needed to do was send money to this hospital, which was just some scammers fake information. I hate scammers. The idea that now you will be able to create videos, that interact and respond to questions, as…

Educate. Make up some kind of information that is easy for legit persons to exchange but difficult to look up online. In case of parents/grandparents, it can be information in their life which isn't available online (good luck finding the town my mother was born in online!).

We use this in our family for generations - anyone ringing our doorbell and asking to be let in needed to know the full name of my siblings. We have a similar mechanism in place for our kids.

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