YouTube recently announced that they would hide dislike counts on videos while keeping like counts visible. This decision has sparked backlash from users who believe that not showing dislikes will make it harder to distinguish between good and bad content, potentially leading to lower-quality videos gaining visibility.
Jawed Karim, a co-founder of YouTube, expressed his disappointment with this change. He criticized YouTube’s move, stating that the ability to identify poor content easily is crucial for a platform driven by user-generated content. Karim emphasized the importance of being able to differentiate between good and bad user-generated content, as it helps maintain quality within the platform.
Karim altered the description of the first YouTube video ever uploaded to voice his opposition to the removal of the dislike button, signaling his disapproval indirectly.
According to Karim, user-generated content platforms rely on the principle of “wisdom of the crowds” to filter out subpar content effectively. He warned that platforms risk decline when they interfere with this natural filtering process. Karim questioned whether YouTube’s decision to hide dislikes would lead to a decline in quality, potentially turning the platform into a home for mediocre content.
