No one likes YouTube anyway

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Don’t like a video on YouTube? Keep that to yourself.

YouTube announced last week that it would remove the dislike counter from its platform, which means users will no longer be able to see how many people hit the “thumbs down” button on videos anymore.

The decision is a part of the social media company’s efforts to make its website more “inclusive and respectful,” YouTube said. But it is also a direct response to “dislike bombing” or “targeted dislike campaigns,” a practice in which users would coordinate to dislike a video and “ratio” it so that its thumbs-downs would be greater than its thumbs-ups.

“We want to create an inclusive and respectful environment where creators have the opportunity to succeed and feel safe to express themselves,” YouTube wrote. “This is just one of many steps we are taking to continue to protect creators from harassment.”

Ironically, YouTube began toying with this decision back in March, when the videos on the White House’s channel began receiving more dislikes than likes. Some of the videos of President Joe Biden’s speeches earned more than five times as many dislikes as likes.

However, YouTube denied that the Biden administration at all influenced its new policy.

The company also clarified that users would be able to dislike videos, but they will no longer see how many other people reached the same conclusion. Unfortunately for Biden, he is subject to at least one rating system that everyone can see: the polls. And right now, his numbers confirm that any disapproval he encountered on YouTube wasn’t just some niche-targeted campaign. It’s a national consensus.

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