YouTube recently changed the way it counts views on Shorts, now aligning it with practices used by TikTok and Instagram Reels. A view will now be counted the moment a video starts playing. This has led to concerns about 'view count inflation'—though this change appears to inflate creator viewership stats, it does not reflect a genuine increase in user engagement or watch time. While superficially beneficial to creators, it echoes past practices used by platforms like Facebook, which blurred the line between impressions and meaningful views.
YouTube's new policy shifts the definition of a view, counting a view as soon as a video plays or replays, impacting perceived engagement but not actual watch time.
This change to YouTube Shorts resembles Facebook's earlier strategy of inflating view counts, misleading creators and advertisers by emphasizing impressions over meaningful engagement.
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