YouTube faces criticism for the removal of the ‘Dislike Count’ on their videos

• YouTube announced on their Twitter that they will be testing a new design in regards to removing the dislike count on their videos.
• YouTube faced criticism from other creators saying that the only people who would want this feature are from content creators whose content is so bad that they would need to hide the dislike count.
• They also said that the people will come up with various ways to “dislike” a YouTube video despite the removal of the dislike count.
• Others however, agreed with YouTube saying the removal of the dislike count is a good option since some just use it to be rude or mean.

March 31, 2021, YouTube announced a new design for the video user interface wherein the public dislike count is not to be seen in the videos anymore. If you become a part of the said experiment, you will start to see this new feature starting next week and the upcoming ones to follow.

Creators will still be able to see the number of dislikes on their videos, but as a viewer, you won’t. However, the viewers may still hit on the dislike button. This will not only help the content creators but your recommendations as well, said Youtube.

👍👎 In response to creator feedback around well-being and targeted dislike campaigns, we're testing a few new designs that don't show the public dislike count. If you're part of this small experiment, you might spot one of these designs in the coming weeks (example below!). pic.twitter.com/aemrIcnrbx

— YouTube (@YouTube) March 30, 2021

YouTube’s decision facing criticism

The public may have a varying opinions about this move by the platform.

“Nobody actually wants this, except those creators whose content is so bad that they need to hide the amount of dislikes they get on their videos. You’re actively promoting bad content by doing this.” -Cynical Reviews @Cynical_CJ

Nobody actually wants this, except those creators whose content is so bad that they need to hide the amount of dislikes they get on their videos.

You're actively promoting bad content by doing this.

— Cynical Reviews (@Cynical_CJ) March 30, 2021

“How will viewers quickly be able to know the general rating of the video and whether or not they should invest time into watching something. Time is valuable. Bad decision. Dislike.” -Rusty Cage @RSTYCG

How will viewers quickly be able to know the general rating of the video and whether or not they should invest time into watching something. Time is valuable. Bad decision. Dislike.

— Rusty Cage (@RSTYCG) March 30, 2021

Team Youtube responded to Rusty Cage’s tweet with “Viewer feedback is an important part of YouTube, but we’ve heard from creators that the current experience can negatively impact their wellbeing. We also know that public dislike counts sometimes motivate targeted campaigns of dislikes on some videos. We’re changing the look and feel of the buttons, but we’ll continue to tune recommendations based on likes and dislikes. Hope this helps clarify.”

(1/2) Viewer feedback is an important part of YouTube, but we've heard from creators that the current experience can negatively impact their wellbeing. We also know that public dislike counts sometimes motivate targeted campaigns of dislikes on some videos.

— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) March 30, 2021

Below are more tweets from people in twitter that shows their opinion about the said new design that Youtube is going to start.

why call it a 'response to creator feedback' when creators don't want you to do this or didn't ask for it

— PLAYBOI OPTI 🏝️⛩️ (@SubToOptimus) March 30, 2021

that's crazy watch this

use me as a dislike button

— Mlick (@Mlickles) March 30, 2021

Others criticized YouTube saying that people will come up with creative ways to add a “dislike” button to videos.

I like this option because people dislike just to be rude/mean. As a creator I’ve never disliked a video. I don’t like that option. If I don’t like the content I just move on. I don’t sub. Etc. Rude people like to use it as a weapon.

— dwXRP (@XrpDw) March 31, 2021

Others agree with YouTube saying that the dislike button tends to get abused and is used to just be rude or mean.

Though this may still be on an experimental stage, a lot are already showing their ‘dislike’ with the design that Youtube came up with. YouTube will probably take a few or more weeks to know if they are gonna implement it to see if it will work well with content creators and viewers.