YouTube began experimenting with hiding the hate counts on videos earlier this year to help reduce hate attacks on creators across the platform, and after a July evaluation, YouTube saw a decrease in that behavior, so the company has announced it will begin hiding the hate counts on all of the videos on its platform.
That isn’t to say you won’t be able to dislike a video; the dislike button isn’t going away, and you can still use it but the number of dislikes a video receives will now be private to those who have access to the YouTube Studio.
YouTube claims that by hiding the hate list, it hopes to “create an inclusive and respectful atmosphere where creators have the chance to succeed and feel safe to express themselves,”
While it is a good reason, one could argue that hate counts on a video are beneficial because they help viewers evaluate whether or not the video is worth watching. Nonetheless, YouTube claims that their investigation found no discernible difference in viewership regardless of whether or not customers may see the hate counts.
With three million likes and a whooping 19 million dislikes, YouTube’s Rewind 2018 is currently the most disliked video on the platform.However, it won’t be long until these figures are hidden, as YouTube has begun to gradually hide hate numbers across the platform.
