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Tens of Thousands of YouTube Users Slam Omission of Dislike Button

The YouTube app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)
The YouTube app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)
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Tens of Thousands of YouTube Users Slam Omission of Dislike Button

The YouTube app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)
The YouTube app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)

Tens of thousands of YouTube users are criticizing its decision to hide how many times a video has been disliked, according to the German news agency.

The Google-owned platform announced, a few days ago, it will no longer show how many "dislike" ratings a video has received in an effort to create an "inclusive and respectful environment."

However, users will still be able to click on the dislike button for any video, YouTube said. It will no longer impact other users' discretion to watch a video, as the dislike counter will be visible only to the creators of the video.

Since the announcement on Wednesday, tens of thousands of users of the web's largest video platform are criticizing the move. "This isn't about protecting creators. This is about protecting corporations and media companies," one user commented on a YouTube video announcing the changes. The comment received 14,000 likes and an unknown number of dislikes.

YouTube's video announcing plans to hide dislike counts received 33,000 thumbs down (dislikes), four times more than the number of thumbs up (likes).

While YouTube's public comments section remains intact, removing a quick mean to see the public verdict on a video will make it more difficult to spot bad or disputed content, users have argued. Following the announcement, YouTube dismissed user complaints that the move amounts to censorship and protecting big brands and advertisers.

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Impostor Uses AI to Impersonate Rubio and Contact Foreign and US Officials

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
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Impostor Uses AI to Impersonate Rubio and Contact Foreign and US Officials

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

The State Department is warning US diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using technology driven by artificial intelligence, according to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all embassies and consulates.

The warning came after the department discovered that an impostor posing as Rubio had attempted to reach out to at least three foreign ministers, a US senator and a governor, according to the July 3 cable, which was first reported by The Washington Post.

The recipients of the scam messages, which were sent by text, Signal and voice mail, were not identified in the cable, a copy of which was shared with The Associated Press.

“The State Department is aware of this incident and is currently investigating the matter,” it said. “The department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to improve the department’s cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents.”

It declined to comment further due to “security reasons” and the ongoing investigation.

One of the officials said the hoaxes had been unsuccessful and “not very sophisticated.” Nonetheless, the second official said the department deemed it “prudent” to advise all employees and foreign governments, particularly as efforts by foreign actors to compromise information security increase.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“There is no direct cyber threat to the department from this campaign, but information shared with a third party could be exposed if targeted individuals are compromised,” the cable said.

The FBI warned in a public service announcement this past spring of a “malicious text and voice messaging campaign” in which unidentified “malicious actors” have been impersonating senior US government officials.

The scheme, according to the FBI, has relied on text messages and AI-generated voice messages that purport to come from a senior US official and that aim to dupe other government officials as well as the victim’s associates and contacts.

It is the second high-level Trump administration official to face such AI-driven impersonation.

The government was investigating after elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures received messages from someone impersonating President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. Text messages and phone calls went out from someone who seemed to have gained access to the contacts in Wiles’ personal cellphone, The Wall Street Journal reported in May.

Some of those who received calls heard a voice that sounded like Wiles, which may have been generated by artificial intelligence, according to the newspaper. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles’ number, the report said.