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Google Flagged Its Own Chromebook Ad As Spam On YouTube (theverge.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the No-U dept.

AmiMoJo quotes The Verge: It's no secret that YouTube's algorithm for automatically flagging videos can be troublesome -- recent issues have seen content creators getting their videos demonetized for seemingly no reason -- but Google's latest faux pas might hit the company a little closer to home. Google posted an ad for its new Chromebook Pixel that is getting flagged as spam... It's particularly telling about whatever is happening with YouTube's algorithm that even official Google content is getting removed "for violating YouTube's policy on spam, deceptive practices, and scams."

35 comments

  1. Google is run by smart morons by gweihir · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And they hired a lot more smart morons. Their problem is that they think their technology is so great it beats human beings. It does not. It is far, far inferior. Sure, for advertising, all these "AI" things seem to work, because advertising does not work in the first place. But for anything else, it becomes obvious on very short notice that this is not "AI" this is artificial stupidity.

    Well, I hope some real alternatives to YouTube become available soon. Many, possibly most content creators will jump ship after having been fucked over this massively.

    --
    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    1. Re:Google is run by smart morons by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 1

      Maybe. But how many false positives are there in total? Maybe the algorithm is still better than humans, despite this obvious error.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    2. Re: Google is run by smart morons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure man, and it will have blackjack and hookers.

    3. Re:Google is run by smart morons by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      That's why whenever I want to find information I ask a human to start randomly doing HTTP requests, remembering all the information, and then remembering the pertinent information and writing it down as well as drawing my a picture.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    4. Re:Google is run by smart morons by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      False positive, why the flock is this one a false positive, this is a pretty good indication that they filters are finally starting to work properly ;D (just because it is Google's spam does not make it not spam).

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    5. Re:Google is run by smart morons by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      However they have built a policy where bad videos get demonized after being flagged.
      That is the real problem. AI are good at mass checking a lot of data, because it is impossible for a team of people to review all the content. However when things get flagged it needs human intervention and during this time the maker is not getting paid for his content during its critical 24 view window.
      The AI itself is decent, the policy behind it is bad.
      The policy is due the Dumb smart people who are so enthralled about their tech that they put a blind eye to its problems and let people suffer from it.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    6. Re:Google is run by smart morons by NewtonsLaw · · Score: 1

      I think you're right about content creators looking for an alternative platform.

      Over a number of years now, YouTube has successively f'd-over its "channel partners" in such a way that it is becoming increasingly more difficult for those who are doing this as a full-time gig to make ends meet.

      Initially, only approved YT channel partners could have ads on their videos and that meant the advertising pie was divvied up amongst a relatively small number of such creators. Everyone got a reasonable share of the pie and you could live on the resulting income.

      Then they decided to let *anyone* and *everyone* monetize their videos -- which meant that that same pie was now being divvied up amongst many millions of people; hence all those dedicated YT channel partners saw a cut in their earnings.

      Then there was the G+ fiasco which I won't even go into.

      That was followed by the massive advertiser pull-out when it was found that YT was monetizing virtually anything that was posted, regardless of the nature of its content. That also hurt full-time YT creators.

      The cure for that was worse than the complaint, with AI routines demonetizing videos seemingly at random and on a whim. Once again, full-time YT creators were hit in the pocket and many actually lost their entire channels for no good reason.

      And now we have yet another advertiser pull-out by the likes of Mars etc -- because of YT's inability to control "predatory" videos.

      If Google wasn't so god-damned greedy and simply went back to only monetizing the content of approved channel partners (like it used to be) then all these problems would disappear. Advertisers wouldn't find their products on unsavoury content, approved channel partners could (once again) make an honest living and the rest of us YT users wouldn't have to sit through an endless stream of pre-roll and interstitial unskippable ads, as well as patreon begging and shills for affiliate links in the description of just about every damned video.

      Someone, please bring on some serious competition to YT... and bring it on quickly!

  2. It is spam by jfdavis668 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isn't it?

    1. Re:It is spam by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 3, Funny

      Dear jfdavis668,

      It has come to our attention that you have been posting subversive and inflammatory content using your Google account. As required by various applicable laws, we have automatically added your name to the watch lists we maintain in cooperation with US Homeland Security and Interpol. An interview team will be contacting you within the next few weeks.

      Have a great day!

      Your friends at Google

      P.S. This email is sent from an unmonitored address. Replies will not be read.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    2. Re: It is spam by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dear Google,

      Eat pant.

      Sincerely,
      The Internet.

      PS. This message sent from an anonymous message board, replies will be read and made fun of, then ignored.

    3. Re:It is spam by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, it’s a scam trying to pass off a toy Chromebook as a real computer.

    4. Re:It is spam by tepples · · Score: 1

      It's possible to convert any Chromebook to a real laptop by opening it up, turning a screw, and reflashing real laptop firmware.

    5. Re:It is spam by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      It's possible to convert any Chromebook to a real laptop by opening it up, turning a screw, and reflashing real laptop firmware.

      You have complained at length about being able to blow up your installation on reboot if you don't actually reflash the BIOS, though. For some Chromebooks, you can flash libreboot. Not all.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    6. Re:It is spam by tepples · · Score: 1

      The firmware restrictions of a Chromebook rise to the level of "deal-breakingly inconvenient" but not quite a "scam" as AC #55622173 called it.

  3. Good algorithm by lurker412 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Seems to work, then.

  4. I found the bug by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here's the patch:

    @@
    bool isSpam(Ad_t const& Ad)
    + if (GOOGLE == Ad._Advertiser) {
    + return false;
    + }

    1. Re:I found the bug by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That code should generate warning.

  5. Manual Review by DakotaSmith · · Score: 1

    Somehow, I suspect this video got a manual review. Now if they'd only deign to do the same for mine ...

    --
    Microsoft leads to Bluescreen; Bluescreen leads to downtime; downtime leads to suffering.
  6. My reaction was the same as benders by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    hahahaha. Oh, wait. You're serious. Let me laugh even harder. HAHAHAHAHAHA

  7. Not the first, won't be the last... by xlsior · · Score: 1

    Back in the day I worked for an ISP, we received a nasty-gram from Ebay demanding we take down a fraudulent website - they claimed to have already notified the FBI that one of our customers was attempting to harvest ebay login credentials through a site we were hosting.

    ...Except the site they were complaining about was actually owned and operated by ebay itself, and was mentioned/linked throughout their own FAQs.

    With these larger companies, the left hand typically has no idea what the right hand is doing.
    (Ever tried to reach a live person at a web company the size of ebay? It's near impossible)

    1. Re:Not the first, won't be the last... by jaa101 · · Score: 1

      So, did you take it down? That seems likely to be the most satisfying way to teach them a lesson for their own stupidity.

    2. Re:Not the first, won't be the last... by xlsior · · Score: 1

      No -- while it would have been satisfying, I wouldn't have want to be on the receiving end of the inevitable fall-out shitstorm that would ensue, nor would I enjoy getting called in the middle of the night to re-activate it. Large corporate customers aren't known for having a sense of humor. Got a hold of their corporate office by phone and explained their screw-up.

      (To be fair, this was 15 years ago or so, and there were a ton of spammers trying to harvest ebay credentials at the time. I guess it's a good sign that ebay was actively trying stop scammers and deceptive websites, but it's rather sloppy that they didn't recognize/whitelist their own sites)

      /It was satisfying to get them to acknowledge their own incompetence though.
      //Did point out to them that this also meant that they'd just filed a false report with the FBI

  8. Because there are no people at those companies. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Psychopathic passive-thinking pseudo-humanois swarm drones are not humans.

    At best, the whole thing is a "Massa Homo Psychopathis". (massa = swarm)

  9. I've been encouraging this in comments. by Mal-2 · · Score: 2

    I've told people to pick an innocuous video, preferably one owned by Google itself, and flag it out of existence. When it goes down, move on to another one. With a little organized and repeated action, maybe we can make the point that crowd "wisdom" is actually trolling in a lot of cases. It is a mistake to assume that people are not colluding to break the content removal mechanism, so let's prove it on something they actually care about. They sure as fuck don't care when it's Cody or Joerg Sprave or Thegn Thrand.

    --
    How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
  10. yawn ... by Hugh+Jorgen · · Score: 0

    rightly so. and then? no and then, carry on.

  11. Those russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Surely it is their hand.

  12. "spam, deceptive practices, and scams" by VeryFluffyBunny · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Otherwise known as advertising. It's poetic when the world's largest advertising corporation calls itself out :)))

    --
    Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
  13. AI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    AI is a bit like nuclear, only likelyhood of blowing up is somewhat lower and perhaps delayed. But also, most anybody can have it, deploy it, and use it for most vile or plain stupid things. Google leads the way on stupid, they've conpletely lost their mind.

  14. obligatory simpsons reference by shentino · · Score: 1

    http://nelson-haha.api-meal.eu...

  15. It's all AdSpam! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Conveniently, this is exactly what I call adverts. Call it all: AdSpam, and treat it accordingly, which is to say, block it all.

    Block 'em high,
    block 'em low,
    block them in a train,
    block them in a plane,
    block ads with a mouse.
    black ads in your house.
    block out each annoying, spying box,
    block them all with ublock & firefox!

    (With apologies to Dr. Seuss)

  16. Flag ALL ads that track/infect/slow you via... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

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    Ads/script/malware rob speed/security/privacy/bandwidth.

    Hosts add speed (via hardcodes/adblocks), security (vs. bad sites/malware/poisoned dns), reliability (vs. dns down), & anonymity (vs. dns requestlogs/trackers).

    Less power/cpu/ram + IO use vs. DNS/routers/addons/antivirus + less security bugs/complexity & faster vs. addons/routers/remote dns!

    Avoids DNSChangers in routers/IP settings & dns redirect (99++% of ISP DNS != patched vs. it) + DNS tracking & lighten DNS load & resolve faster from local RAM!

    * Via what u NATIVELY have in a FASTER kernelmode IP stack (does more w/ less).

    APK

    P.S. - Safe https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/e01211ca36aa02e923f20adee0a3c4f5d5187dc65bdf1c997b3da3c2b0745425/analysis/1433430542/ (self checking code vs. infection of it built-in)