Jay Peters
YouTubers can now share their channels using QR codes.
You can grab your QR code from the YouTube app. Big year for QR codes!
YouTube
YouTube launched in 2005 as a video sharing platform, and was acquired by Google (now Alphabet) in 2006. It has built an entire community of creators that run channels dedicated to topics like gaming, tech reviews, and beauty. It also houses news videos and entertainment such as music videos, movie trailers, and clips from late-night TV shows.
YouTube’s rapid growth has not been without problems. YouTubers typically make money from ads that run in front of their videos, but if they break the platform’s rules, their channels and videos can be demonetized. Executives and moderators have worked to combat harassment, misinformation, terrorist propaganda, hate content, and other abuse.
The Verge runs two YouTube channels, The Verge and Verge Science.
Jess Weatherbed
Richard Lawler
Viral true crime story or just another AI fake?
A reader asked the Denver Post why it hadn’t covered a grisly and salacious 2014 murder in Littleton, CO. It hadn’t, because the crime never happened.
But there it is on YouTube and Spotify, accumulating millions of views with seemingly AI-generated voiceovers and faces. True crime fans say they reported the videos months ago after YouTube recommended them, but they aren’t being removed.
Screenshot: YouTube (@TrueCrimeCasefiles0)
David Pierce
Every Frame a Painting is back!
I have said before, and still firmly believe, that Every Frame a Painting is the best YouTube series of all time. And now, after eight years of silence, it’s back! (Apparently the folks at XOXO this weekend got a preview of the duo’s short film, too, which fills me jealousy.)
BRB watching all the EFAP videos again for the 9,326th time.
Becca Farsace
David Pierce
Oh no, I’m going to pay for Sunday Ticket now.
It’s year two for NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube, and it appears there’s not a ton of new stuff, but the combination of Yahoo Fantasy integration and a build-your-own-multiview feature is right up my alley. Sunday Ticket is expensive, but might be worth it.
Oh, and PSA: do not under any circumstances subscribe through the App Store. That price is highway robbery.
Level up your gameday with the latest NFL Sunday Ticket features
[YouTube Official Blog]
Sean Hollister
Emma Roth
YouTube Premium subscribers can try out a sleep timer.
If you often fall asleep while watching a video, you can try YouTube Premium’s experimental sleep timer through September 2nd. It pauses your content after a certain amount of time, so that way autoplay doesn’t eat up all your internet data for the month.
Thomas Ricker
Here come YouTube’s community notes.
Invitations are going out for Google’s community-led pilot to moderate misinformation by letting users append highly-rated notes to confusing or inaccurate videos. Per 9to5Google, you can sign up to participate on mobile in the US by clicking your profile pic in the app, then selecting “help inform viewers” under general settings.
Let us know in the comments if you’re seeing notes on videos.
From Car Throttle to Donut, countless YouTube creators are fleeing. But is this a new trend or a tale as old as venture capital?
Tim Stevens
Jess Weatherbed
YouTube is trying to make livestream ads more tolerable.
While the platform currently cuts away from live content to display video ads, YouTube is now experimenting with live mid-rolls that will instead launch and run alongside the broadcast in Picture-in-Picture mode.
That should be less disruptive for viewers, and may also dissuade them from installing adblockers to avoid paying for YouTube’s ad-free premium service — something YouTube has been cracking down on.
YouTube test features and experiments - YouTube Community
[support.google.com]
Jay Peters
MrBeast issued a statement about ‘inappropriate language’ he used as a teenager.
The statement was included in a larger Associated Press report about the controversies MrBeast is dealing with:
“When Jimmy was a teenager he acted like many kids and used inappropriate language while trying to be funny,” a spokesperson for the YouTuber said in a statement to The Associated Press. “Over the years he has repeatedly apologized and has learned that increasing influence comes with increased responsibility to be more aware and more sensitive to the power of language. After making some bad jokes and other mistakes when he was younger, as an adult he has focused on engaging with the MrBeast community to work together on making a positive impact around the world.”
Jay Peters
YouTube now lets creators appeal some partner program suspensions before they take effect.
The change, which goes into effect as of today, gives creators seven days to appeal a suspension for “certain policy violations” before that suspension goes into effect, according to “Rob” on the YouTube team.
“This won’t be available for all suspensions to start with, but we hope to expand this over time,” Rob says.
Changes to the YouTube Partner Program Appeal Process - YouTube Community
[support.google.com]
Nilay Patel
Splice retracts copyright strike against YouTuber who showed a sample license.
Splice got itself in some trouble a couple weeks ago when it issued a YouTube copyright strike against Krystle Delgado, a music attorney who showed one of the company’s sample licenses on screen. Splice wised up and retracted the strike last week, CEO Kakul Srivastava tell me. “We fundamentally support the rights of creators to express themselves – even if we disagree,” she wrote in an email to Delgado.
For her part, Delgado confirmed that the strike was indeed retracted by YouTube, and tells me that she wishes she could have spoken to to Srivastava directly before Splice’s lawyers escalated the situation.
As always, I will remind everyone that copyright law is the only functional speech regulation on the internet, and using it to chill speech or block criticism never tends to go well!
Barbara Krasnoff
Jay Peters
MrBeast’s next video pits 50 YouTubers against each other.
Creators like MKBHD, Logan Paul, Kai Cenat, Pokimane, and Valkyrae will vie for $1,000,000, according to MrBeast. He says the video will go live on Saturday.
In June, MrBeast posted a group photo featuring the creators in the competition — there are a lot more that I didn’t name here!
Richard Lawler
Tesla tests an update with more music apps and some parental driving controls.
According to Not a Tesla App, the 2024.26 update in testing has features like parental controls that limit speed and acceleration or notify about late-night drives, an AQI symbol for poor local air quality, and scheduled charging.
It also adds built-in apps for Amazon Music and YouTube Music streaming in the US if you have Premium Connectivity or an active Wi-Fi connection.
Jay Peters
Mia Sato
Here’s how to remove your AI deepfakes on YouTube.
Today the company rolled out an expanded takedown requests process for AI content following its initial announcement back in November.
But requesting removal doesn’t guarantee YouTube will comply. The company says it will consider things like whether the content could be mistaken as real and whether it’s parody or satire.
YouTube is going to start cracking down on AI clones of musicians
Mia Sato and Nilay Patel
Jess Weatherbed
You could soon use your phone camera to find YouTube videos.
YouTube is experimenting with the ability to search for videos via Google Lens, with a “small percentage” of Android users being enrolled to test the feature.
The description says tapping the Lens button in the YouTube search bar will retrieve videos based on the picture you snap — which doesn’t sound particularly useful but might provide some entertainment value.
YouTube test features and experiments - YouTube Community
[support.google.com]
Jay Peters
YouTube’s AI-powered skip-ahead feature is now official for Premium subscribers on Android.
In addition to announcing wider availability of its thumbnail testing tool, YouTube is launching its skip feature it started testing last month. You can learn more details on that and a few other features (including creator QR codes) in this video.
Mia Sato
MrBeast’s charity’s latest video was funded by Koch money.
The video “We Schooled Hundreds of Teachers” was funded in part by Stand Together, an organization founded by right-wing billionaire Charles Koch, reports Fast Company.
The video profiles Ron Clark Academy, a private school in Atlanta. For decades, the Koch family has worked to undermine public schools. “Education alternatives” are one of Stand Together’s key issues.
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