Clickbait/Misleading ACNH video Thumbnails Rant

[Victoria of Starry Isle]

This is one of the most frustrating parts of the animal crossing community on youtube. As we all know acnh is a game with free dlc so new features will be added as time goes on. Lot's of youtube channels like to cover news of new features. Not all ACNH youtube channels, but some have clickbait thumbnails. These thumbnails are misleading and they get people's hopes up and once you finds out that the video was just clickbait you get really sad. Many of these thumbnails hold promises of really cool stuff coming to the game. But when you actually click on the video you realize that the content in thumbnail doesn't match the video's content . It's so annoying and I really hate it. At this point I just completely block these channels from showing up in my recommended. Not because I hate the youtuber as a person or anything, I'm just tired of the same stale clickbait content.

For example:

Having a villager and another npc in a warp pipe combined with the title "7 BEST WARP PIPE TRICKS", plus the text reading "SECRET TIPS!!" in the thumbnail implies that villagers and other npc's can travel through warp pipes in game through a secret trick. This is sadly not the case. There are more, but this is just the first one I found lol. This one isn't so bad as other ones I found.

The video idea is interesting and I and many other ACNH players would be interested in this topic. However, the clickbaitness of it all puts me off from watching the video. I don't want to support a channel that monetizes off getting people's hopes up. (I still watched the whole video to make sure that what I was saying was true though, but only to make sure I wasn't spreading misinformation.)


DISCLAIMER:
If you disagree with me that's fine but say your opinion in a respectful way. This is in no way hate against switch force, I don't hate the youtuber as a person or anything like that. Nor am I saying switch force is the only youtube channel that does this, there are more channels that do this. I'm just using switchforce as an example.

 

[Moritz]

One of my least favourite videos was called something like "what to expect from the big 2.0 update"
Nothing. You expect nothing because they haven't announced one. Stop lying to people.

 

[VanitasFan26]

Yeah this is exactly why people were getting their expectations up so high because of videos like this. YouTubers would always use like custom thumbnails and use like Big captions to act like something is Confirmed when in reality it is not. This is a common problem on the Internet when sites like Twitter and YouTube have people always trying to spread false information on games and act like as if its suppose to be a "new" thing when its not.

Clickbait has always been an issue on YouTube since 2015 and I myself got really fed up of those type of videos. Usually when I see them I just look at the comments section to see if they said anything that was true, but if someone points out that it was all false from a top rated comment then that would save me the trouble of watching them.

Of course not every creator is like this there are some AC creators that try their best to be honest of what they say in their videos, but its just that most of them whenever they have a lot of views it tends to be the more clickbait ones, which is something I really don't like. I do get what the video was trying to say in OP, but the way they use thumbnails like that makes it seem like its a big deal.

 

[Victoria of Starry Isle]

Yeah this is exactly why people were getting their expectations up so high because of videos like this. YouTubers would always use like custom thumbnails and use like Big captions to act like something is Confirmed when in reality it is not. This is a common problem on the Internet when sites like Twitter and YouTube have people always trying to spread false information on games and act like as if its suppose to be a "new" thing when its not.

Clickbait has always been an issue on YouTube since 2015 and I myself got really fed up of those type of videos. Usually when I see them I just look at the comments section to see if they said anything that was true, but if someone points out that it was all false from a top rated comment then that would save me the trouble of watching them.

Of course not every creator is like this there are some AC creators that try their best to be honest of what they say in their videos, but its just that most of them whenever they have a lot of views it tends to be the more clickbait ones, which is something I really don't like. I do get what the video was trying to say in OP, but the way they use thumbnails like that makes it seem like its a big deal.

One of my least favourite videos was called something like "what to expect from the big 2.0 update"
Nothing. You expect nothing because they haven't announced one. Stop lying to people.

Yes, exactly! I think that a large part of it stems from the fact that ACNH doesn't have a lot of content in game so they resort to alternative ways of making ACNH content. Everyone's seen island builds, everyone's been playing for a while now so guides on how to do stuff in game aren't needed, ect. I think videos of update predictions/speculation are fine and it's fun to theorize what may come next. ONLY as long as creators put a disclaimer saying you should take things with a grain of salt, put no clickbaity thumbnails and clearly have the words "speculation" or "predictions" easily visible in the thumbnail/video title. Otherwise it is very misleading.

 

[Corrie]

I've learned to see videos like this and automatically assume they're fake. My main motto is "if it seems to good to be true, it probably is." It'll save you from so much heartache. But yes, I agree. It's terrible people do this.

 

[Victoria of Starry Isle]

I've learned to see videos like this and automatically assume they're fake. My main motto is "if it seems to good to be true, it probably is." It'll save you from so much heartache. But yes, I agree. It's terrible people do this.

Yes, I've watched ACNH yt for a while now and I already know which channels tend to clickbait so I completely block them from showing up in my recommended. I actually would have enjoyed those channel's content if it wasn't for the thumbnails. But I've made up in my mind that if I support them, they will get more popular and more people will watch them and then more people will become disappointed. Also I'm not going to give my views to someone who tricks people into watching their videos.

P.S.
This is completely unrelated but I LOVE your my sweetpiano signature! It's so cute!

 

[Garrett]

Hahaha, as soon as I saw the thread heading I thought of SwitchForce.

 

[Victoria of Starry Isle]

Hahaha, as soon as I saw the thread heading I thought of SwitchForce.

I'm worried the switchforce stans are going to come for me lol

 

[Corrie]

Yes, I've watched ACNH yt for a while now and I already know which channels tend to clickbait so I completely block them from showing up in my recommended. I actually would have enjoyed those channel's content if it wasn't for the thumbnails. But I've made up in my mind that if I support them, they will get more popular and more people will watch them and then more people will become disappointed. Also I'm not going to give my views to someone who tricks people into watching their videos.

P.S.
This is completely unrelated but I LOVE your my sweetpiano signature! It's so cute!

For sure! I admire your view on this and think its very admirable. Imo if you give those videos views, it means their clickbaiting works and they'll continue with it. I know Youtube channels aren't a "business" but I can't support that shady business model either.

Heheh, thanks! She's a real cutie!

 

[ForgottenT]

I just click the "Not interested", followed by "Don't recommend channel" Whenever I see something like this.
There are a couple of really rotten apples in the YT AC community, and Switchforce is one of the worst imo.

 

[Victoria of Starry Isle]

I just click the "Not interested", followed by "Don't recommend channel" Whenever I see something like this.
There are a couple of really rotten apples in the YT AC community, and Switchforce is one of the worst imo.

Yes, I remember that once when I was starting to watch ACNH YT one of their thumbnails said something like "Brewster is back?!" and had a picture of Brewster in the thumbnail. When I actually saw the video I noticed that wasn't the case. I was pretty upset for a while after that we weren't getting a new npc. I would ACTUALLY ENJOY some of their videos if it wasn't for the misleading thumbnails. They are just doing it for the views, which I understand you gotta pay your bills but tricking people is an extremely shady way of doing it .

 

[Shellzilla_515]

Unfortunately, this issue exists across many different things you could think of. Not just Animal Crossing. I knew that once that New Horizons released, there would be types of videos like this. Moreover, it turns me off heavily when they think hating a villager is cool. We have different tastes but please don't do it to get views. Since then, I've only watched a handful of Animal Crossing videos and stayed well away from topics that have something to do with speculation. I use video blocker, so if I see a channel that irks me, off into the blocked list they go.

 

[Victoria of Starry Isle]

Unfortunately, this issue exists across many different things you could think of. Not just Animal Crossing. I knew that once that New Horizons released, there would be types of videos like this. Moreover, it turns me off heavily when they think hating a villager is cool. We have different tastes but please don't do it to get views. Since then, I've only watched a handful of Animal Crossing videos and stayed well away from topics that have something to do with speculation. I use video blocker, so if I see a channel that irks me, off into the blocked list they go.

Yes, it is an issue that extends past ACNH. I think speculation/theory videos about new updates can be fun as long as:

1.) The thumbnail is not misleading. No pictures or text of anything that is not in game, no pictures arranged in a way that sets false expectations ,ect. What I mean by "no pictures arranged in a way that sets false expectations" is what switch force did. They arranged the pictures so that the villagers were shown traveling through the warp pipe. This creates false expectations that villagers will be able to use warp pipes.

2.) The title is not misleading. Instead of saying something like "Brewster is coming to ACNH in 2.0 update" or "What you can expect from ACNH" it should say something like "My predictions for the next ACNH update" or "Speculating about the next update". The first two titles set expectations and do not make it clear that it is simply speculation/a theory. The last two titles make it clear that it is only speculation.

3.) A disclaimer in the video reminding the viewer that everything is just a prediction/theory that is just for fun and to take everything with a grain of salt. At the end of the day only nintendo decides what goes into their games. While it may be fun to theorize and speculate, nothing is set in stone.

 

[Shellzilla_515]

Yes, it is an issue that extends past ACNH. I think speculation/theory videos about new updates can be fun as long as:

1.) The thumbnail is not misleading. No pictures or text of anything that is not in game, no pictures arranged in a way that sets false expectations ,ect. What I mean by "no pictures arranged in a way that sets false expectations" is what switch force did. They arranged the pictures so that the villagers were shown traveling through the warp pipe. This creates false expectations that villagers will be able to use warp pipes.

2.) The title is not misleading. Instead of saying something like "Brewster is coming to ACNH in 2.0 update" or "What you can expect from ACNH" it should say something like "My predictions for the next ACNH update" or "Speculating about the next update". The first two titles set expectations and do not make it clear that it is simply speculation/a theory. The last two titles make it clear that it is only speculation.

3.) A disclaimer in the video reminding the viewer that everything is just a prediction/theory that is just for fun and to take everything with a grain of salt. At the end of the day only nintendo decides what goes into their games. While it may be fun to theorize and speculate, nothing is set in stone.

Agreed. I also feel like misleading videos indirectly impacted people's views on this game such as Brewster coming in the next update or something like that. I guess that explains why my opinions are a little different due to avoiding speculation videos and not being too disappointed with what we're given.

 

[Crash]

i agree with you 100%. i hate youtubers that do this, and there's unfortunately so many that do in every single community there is. i just hate clickbait so much. i usually wait until i see a legitimate video from nintendo before i get my hopes up in any way and don't bother with anything fanmade.

 

[Victoria of Starry Isle]

Agreed. I also feel like misleading videos indirectly impacted people's views on this game such as Brewster coming in the next update or something like that. I guess that explains why my opinions are a little different due to avoiding speculation videos and not being too disappointed with what we're given.

I can see how these videos cam impact people's views on the game.
There aren't that may youtubers that make good prediction videos. The only person who really does follow all three of these rules most of the time is koramora, although I think that for one video she put brewster in the thumbnail which is quite misleading. :/

Post automatically merged: Apr 15, 2021

i agree with you 100%. i hate youtubers that do this, and there's unfortunately so many that do in every single community there is. i just hate clickbait so much. i usually wait until i see a legitimate video from nintendo before i get my hopes up in any way and don't bother with anything fanmade.

Yeah it's so frustrating.

 

[Miss Misty]

They do it because downvotes and comments from people who get irrationally angry at clickbait and feel the need to "correct" the clickbait still count as engagement in the Youtube algorithm, and because there are little kids who'll click on it and watch the video without even remembering (or reading in the first place) what they clicked on. And for their part, YT doesn't care if viewers are having their time wasted by clickbait videos as long as their time is being wasted on the YT platform and they watch the ads first. It sucks for people who want genuine ACNH (or any other popular game) videos to watch, but it works better than making honest content since little kids and people desperate to be right all the time won't click on those, so the creators keep doing it. What @ForgottenT said is the best strategy really. If you have a feeling you're being baited, then the best move to take is to use the three dots to tell YT you're not interested in the content without clicking on it. Creators only change when their engagement is being negatively impacted.

 

[Victoria of Starry Isle]

They do it because downvotes and comments from people who get irrationally angry at clickbait and feel the need to "correct" the clickbait still count as engagement in the Youtube algorithm, and because there are little kids who'll click on it and watch the video without even remembering (or reading in the first place) what they clicked on. And for their part, YT doesn't care if viewers are having their time wasted by clickbait videos as long as their time is being wasted on the YT platform and they watch the ads first. It sucks for people who want genuine ACNH (or any other popular game) videos to watch, but it works better than making honest content since little kids and people desperate to be right all the time won't click on those, so the creators keep doing it. What @ForgottenT said is the best strategy really. If you have a feeling you're being baited, then the best move to take is to use the three dots to tell YT you're not interested in the content without clicking on it. Creators only change when their engagement is being negatively impacted.

I agree with you, the youtube algorithm is very flawed that's how useless channels like 5 minute crafts get ahead.

 

[psiJordan]

How many times have we all seen a video titled something like “5 QOL things we NEED in animal crossing” and it’s just “bulk crafting! Isabelle’s dialogue! Brewster!”

like we’ve been doing this for over a year can we get some different ideas lol

 

[sleepydreepy]

Yeah I think clickbait thumbnails are now an integral part of YouTube and not exclusive to the AC community on there. It's really annoying, but that's just how online culture is now- if people want your watch time they will make the title/thumbnail as attention grabbing as possible.