YouTube clamps down on 'fake video views'

By  Matthew Sparkes

YouTube has warned users who buy “fake views” for their videos to make them appear more popular that they will be clamping down on the practice. 

Google, which owns the video sharing site, has told users that it has begun auditing video views and will consider reducing the number if anything suspicious is detected, or even deleting the video altogether.YouTube's terms and conditions forbid "purchasing views". 

In a blog post last night Google software engineer Philipp Pfeiffenberger said: “YouTube isn’t just a place for videos, it’s a place for meaningful human interaction. Whether it’s views, likes, or comments, these interactions both represent and inform how creators connect with their audience. That’s why we take the accuracy of these interactions very seriously. 

“When some bad actors try to game the system by artificially inflating view counts, they’re not just misleading fans about the popularity of a video, they’re undermining one of YouTube’s most important and unique qualities. 

“As part of our long-standing effort to keep YouTube authentic and full of meaningful interactions, we’ve begun periodically auditing the views a video has received. While in the past we would scan views for spam immediately after they occurred, starting today we will periodically validate the video’s view count, removing fraudulent views as new evidence comes to light.” 

Pfeiffenberger said that he expects the clamp down to affect only a “miniscule fraction of videos” that have been uploaded to YouTube. The company has warned in the past that offenders risk having their videos deleted from the service. 

There are many companies that can be found online that will sell YouTube views, likes or comments. Some even offer a choice of which region the views should appear to come from. 

One website this morning was offering 5,000 views for $9.99, then increments up to 1,000,000 views for $900. On top of this there was an option to add 1,000 comments for an additional $200. Views are delivered gradually at a rate of 1,000 to 10,000 per day and the company offered a guarantee that all videos would be watched for at least 30 seconds. 

Another website, based in the UK, was offering 10,000 views for £10, or 500 channel subscribers for £25. 

Review company Yelp face similar problems with business owners who attempt to write their own positive recommendations. The company goes so far as to set up "sting operations" to catch offenders in the act and then publicly shames them online. 

Spokesman Elliot Adams said: “As the influence of online media and consumer reviews continues to grow, it is vital that companies operating in this arena work to mitigate the risk of the bad actors who try to game the system and mislead consumers. At Yelp we have been working on our recommendation software since our inception in 2004, which helps recommend only the most useful, relevant and reliable review content. 

"We even go one step further and carry out sting operations on businesses looking to pay for positive reviews, and once caught red handed, we clearly make this information available to consumers looking to patronise these businesses with a banner on their business page, outing their shady business practices and recommending that they may want to take their business elsewhere.”