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YouTube now lets creators pause comments on videos
It's rolling out to all creators.
YouTube tests AI-generated comment summaries and a chatbot for videos
YouTube announced two new experimental generative AI features today. Premium subscribers can soon try AI-generated comment summaries organized by topic, and a chatbot that answers questions about videos.
You can now search the comments within an individual Reddit post
Reddit announced today that it added the ability to search for comments within a single post. The new feature is now available on desktop, iOS and Android.
YouTube users will get a 24-hour timeout if their toxic comments are removed
YouTube is updating its rules around toxic comments that violate community community guidelines.
Google brings Smart Replies to comments in Docs
Swiftly respond to suggestions from your co-workers and bosses.
TikTok's new anti-bullying tool lets users mass-delete comments
After it recently added comment filtering, TikTok is introducing more features to reduce bullying and harassment.
YouTube is testing SoundCloud-like timestamped comments
YouTube has started testing a new feature that gives you a quick way to view comments "timed to the exact moment you're watching in a video."
TikTok adds new comment controls to discourage bullying
TikTok is introducing new features meant to reduce bullying and harassment on its platform: new comment controls and in-app prompts to discourage nasty comments.
Instagram rolls out pinned comments to everyone
You'll have some more control over the conversation on your posts.
YouTube's tougher harassment policy cracks down on hate speech and threats
YouTube is enacting a stricter anti-harassment policy to curb hate speech and threats that might have otherwise skirted past its moderators. The online video giant no longer allows material that "maliciously insults" people based on traits like gender identity, race or sexual orientation. It'll also bar "veiled or implied" threats, not just direct ones. You could face penalties if you simulate violence toward someone or suggest that violence might take place, YouTube said. Also, channels that routinely "brush up" against the policy will be kicked out of the YouTube Partner Program. A creator that's purposefully testing the limits of YouTube's resolve could find itself unable to make money, and might find itself banned outright if its behavior continues beyond that point.
YouTube is making its terms of service easier to read
If you visit YouTube today, you'll see a pop-up window alerting you that the platform's Terms of Service will be updated on December 10th. The new terms do not change the way YouTube treats your info, and YouTube isn't changing how it uses creators' content, but it is clarifying a few of its policies.
Europe's top court rules that Facebook can be ordered to remove illegal content
Courts in the European Union can now order Facebook to remove user comments deemed illegal, according to a new ruling by the EU's highest court, which has implications for the way countries can manage content bans beyond their borders.
LGBTQ+ creators file lawsuit charging YouTube with discrimination
In a federal lawsuit filed yesterday, a group of LGBTQ+ video creators claims YouTube discriminates against their content. The group alleges that YouTube suppresses their videos, restricts their ability to monetize their channels and enforces its policies unevenly, giving more leeway to producers with large audiences. According to The Washington Post, the suit argues that YouTube deploys "unlawful content regulation, distribution, and monetization practices that stigmatize, restrict, block, demonetize, and financially harm the LGBT Plaintiffs and the greater LGBT Community."
Instagram’s 'huge booty' problem keeps getting worse
There isn't a day when I don't come across comments from bots on Instagram. They're all over the place. But there's nothing they love more than to spam high-profile pages with millions of followers. Whether it's LeBron James, Kim Kardashian, ESPN or Ariana Grande, their posts are often the target of comments such as "We gonna ignore the fact that I've GOT A HUGE BOOTY?" or "DON'T LOOK at my STORY, if you don't want to M A S T U R B A T E !" Behind these, are fake accounts featuring pictures and videos of naked and half-naked women, whose primary goal is to get people to sign up for shady porn sites. This has become a serious problem for Instagram, one that seems to be getting worse by the day and that the company needs to get a handle on, before it gets more out of control.
Instagram’s anti-bullying tool lets you ‘restrict’ problematic followers
Today, Instagram announced two new tools meant to combat bullying. The first will use AI to warn users if a comment they're about to post may be considered offensive. In theory, it will give users a chance to rethink their comments. The second will allow users to "restrict" problematic followers. Comments by restricted followers won't appear publicly (unless you approve them), and users on your restricted list won't be able to see when you're active or when you've read their direct messages.
YouTube tests moving comments to a separate window on mobile
Internet comment sections are notoriously awful, and comments on YouTube can be especially dark. Earlier this year, the platform turned off comments on videos of children after a disturbing amount of pedophilic comments were discovered, and there's plenty of hate speech circulating, as well. Now, YouTube is testing a change that could relocate the comments on mobile apps. It would require users to willingly seek them out.
Facebook will rank comments to make conversations more meaningful
Facebook wants to make conversations on public posts more meaningful. Today, it will start ranking comments to promote those that are most relevant to users. It will give priority to comments that have interactions from the original poster, as well as comments or reactions from friends of the person who created the post.
Killing comments won't cure our toxic internet culture
2014 was a year of reckoning for online news media. Following increasingly fractious and aggressive behavior by users, a number of marquee organizations threw their collective hands up and shut down their comments sections. Within weeks of each other, Recode, The Week, USA Today and Reuters joined with Popular Science and The Chicago Sun-Times in announcing that they would be shuttering their public forums in favor of holding those discussions on other social channels.
Bots have invaded Instagram comments
The last thing I expected to find on Instagram was someone telling me not to look at their Story if I didn't want to masturbate. But that comment, which I can only assume was intended reverse psychology, wasn't just directed at me. It was left on a post from Sky Sports and, thanks to the thousands of likes garnered by the comment, it was the first thing the account's 2.7 million followers would see when they looked at the comments on that picture. There are similar comments all over Instagram, particularly on high-profile pages with millions of followers. And they have one thing in common: They're spam profiles with pictures and videos of naked and half-naked women, which were created to get you to look at their accounts and then have you sign up for shady pornographic sites.
Alphabet's AI-powered Chrome extension hides toxic comments
Alphabet offshoot Jigsaw is launching a Chrome extension designed to help moderate toxic comments on social media. The new open-source tool, dubbed "Tune," builds on the machine learning smarts introduced in Jigsaw's "Perpesctive" tech to help sites like Facebook and Twitter set the "volume" of abusive comments. Using "filter mix" controls, users can either turn toxic comments off altogether (what's known as "zen mode") or show selective types of posts containing attacks, insults, or profanity. Tune also works with Reddit, YouTube and Disqus.
