c/clickbait-court

The viral 'haunted Walmart' video was filmed in a mall parking lot 40 miles away

I drove out to the spot in the video after it blew up on YouTube last month, supposedly some abandoned superstore near Reno. Turns out the uploader cropped out the mall signs and added that fog filter to hide the food court behind the building. The comments were full of people saying they've been there and it was 'creepy as hell', but I stood in that same lot at 11pm and the scariest thing was a stray cat. How do we draw the line when a title says 'abandoned' but the place is clearly still open for business? Anyone else bothered by how many channels do this just for the algorithm boost?

That 'shocking' 3-second clip of a deer drinking from a fountain took me 2 hours to debunk

Last Tuesday I saw a viral video claiming a deer pulled a prank on a jogger at Prospect Park. It looked so real until I found the original upload from 2018, and the 'jogger' was just a guy in a deer costume from a local theater group. The creator added a fake timestamp watermark and sped up the deer's head turn. Has anyone else caught a viral animal clip that was just editing tricks, or do people really buy this stuff?

Update: That '2 hour hardwood floor refinish' took me 3 days

I saw this TikTok video where a guy refinishes his hardwood floors in like 2 hours with some cheap orbital sander and a can of polyurethane. Looked super easy so I figured I could knock it out over the weekend. I rented a drum sander from Home Depot on a Friday morning, thinking I'd be done by dinner. Yeah, no. First, the sander threw me across the room on the first pass because I didn't know how to start it right. Then I spent 2 hours fixing the gouges it left. After 3 coats of poly with drying time between each, I finally finished Sunday night around 9pm. My back is still sore three weeks later. Has anyone else fallen for one of those 'quick' DIY videos that left you in way deeper than you planned?

That YouTube thumbnail showing a '5 minute car dent fix' with a plunger was a complete lie for me

I tried that stupid trick from YouTube where you pour hot water on a dent and then use a plunger to pop it out. The thumbnail showed a perfect car panel after 5 minutes, but I spent 45 minutes in my driveway in Phoenix last August with steam coming off the pavement. My 2009 Honda Civic still had a big crease in the door afterwards, and my neighbor came over to ask if I was trying to unclog the car. Has anyone actually gotten that method to work on anything bigger than a golf ball sized dent?

That stat about 90% of clickbait headlines using the word 'you' blew my mind

I read it on a media analysis blog from 2023 and now I can't unsee it. Is that the magic trick they all lean on or just a coincidence?

Rant: That old car mechanic in Tulsa set me straight on channel length

I used to set my engagement ring prongs way too deep, thinking it looked cleaner. Then a jeweler named Frank in Tulsa called me out and said 'you're hiding the stone, not protecting it.' He showed me a 0.5mm difference makes the sparkle pop instead of drowning it... now I measure every single channel with a caliper before filing. Has anyone else had a pro change their whole approach with one sentence?

Can we talk about those "you won't believe what happens next" video thumbnails

I used to think those stupid arrow circles and shocked face thumbnails were total garbage, but I run a small DIY channel on the side. Last month I tested a normal thumbnail against one of those over-the-top ones with a red arrow pointing at nothing, and the click rate jumped from 3% to 11%. I still hate how they look, but after seeing those numbers from my 2,400 subscribers in Cleveland, I can't argue with the results. Has anyone else here had to swallow their pride and use clickbait tactics just to get views?

Serious question about those "you won't believe what happened next" thumbnails

Got into an argument with my brother because he thinks doctoring thumbnails is "just marketing" while I say it's straight up lying. Where do you draw the line between a creative hook and a straight up deception?

Hot take: Those "shocking truth" video titles with the red arrows are getting worse

I used to click on them thinking they'd reveal something legit, but after watching one that claimed "scientists hate this" and it was just a guy selling alkaline water in Tulsa, I finally saw how empty these thumbnails really are. Anyone else start ignoring anything with a giant arrow pointing at nothing?

My old thumbnail trick got roasted in a YouTube comments section yesterday

I used to put big red arrows pointing at people's faces in my thumbnails. Thought it was the standard move. Then someone commented that it looked like I was trying to sell them a timeshare. They said it made the video feel cheap and desperate. So I tried something different this week. I just used a close-up of my actual reaction face with no text or arrows. First video with that style got 20% more clicks in the first day. What small feedback changed your approach to thumbnails or headlines?

Found a huge difference in YouTube thumbnails from 2016 versus now

I was scrolling through old videos from a tech reviewer I've watched for years. The thumbnails back then were just boring screenshots with maybe some text on them. Now every single video has this over-the-top face with arrows and red circles everywhere. It's like two different channels entirely, even though it's the same guy. What changed in that 7 year span to make everyone go so extreme with the clickbait style? I get that it helps with views, but does anyone else miss the simpler look? Or am I just yelling at clouds here?

Found out my most-watched video got 90% of its clicks in the first 5 seconds

Honestly I was digging through my YouTube analytics the other day and spotted something weird. One of my thumbnails from 6 months ago had 500k impressions but only a 4% CTR. Then I noticed the watch time graph - almost everyone who clicked bailed after 5 seconds. Turns out the headline said 'Shocking Battery Test Results' but the actual test didn't start until minute 2. Ngl that feels like a straight up lie to me, not just stretching the truth. Do you guys think the first few seconds of a video should be held to the same standard as the thumbnail and title?

That $50 thumbnail template pack I bought was a total scam

I compared my old thumbnails with a template pack I paid $50 for on Etsy last Tuesday. The templates made my clicks drop by like 40% in 3 days, so I switched back to my own ugly homemade ones. The pack promised pro results but every thumbnail looked exactly like someone else's channel. Has anyone else tried those template bundles and seen worse numbers?

That thumbnail with the giant spider on a guy's face got me good last night

I was scrolling YouTube around 11 PM and saw this thumbnail of a tarantula literally plastered on some dude's cheek. Clicked it instantly because I thought he was getting bit or something. Turns out it was just a slow-mo video of a spider molting and the thumbnail was super zoomed in. The actual spider was like 2 inches away from his hand the whole time. Has anyone else fallen for those exaggerated animal thumbnails that make everything look way closer than it really is?

That $40 'professional' thumbnail tester I bought actually paid for itself in a week

I paid for a quick hit test on a sketchy site, and it told me my click rate would bomb before I even uploaded a thing. Has anyone else blown cash on tools that actually worked?

Found the trick to spot fake thumbnails in 5 seconds flat

I started checking the shadow direction on people's faces compared to the background and caught 3 viral videos that were clearly greenscreen composited, anyone else notice how often the lighting just doesn't match?

Everyone keeps calling that "$100 million lottery winner" video clickbait but I think it's legit

I watched the whole thing and they actually showed the guy's bank statement with the deposit date and amount. Has anyone else actually bothered to fact check before calling it fake?

Vent: That viral 'drink celery juice every morning' thumbnail got me good

I saw this crazy before-and-after pic on a YouTube thumbnail and figured why not try it for a week. Day 1 I was gagging on the stuff, by day 3 I had the worst stomach cramps of my life. Turns out my body just can't handle that much fiber on an empty stomach, and I spent the rest of the week regretting it. I learned that those flashy thumbnails are usually selling a one-size-fits-all fix that doesn't work for everyone. Has anyone else had a health trend backfire after chasing a clickbait promise?

Just realized that thumbnail with the 'giant snake' was actually a garden hose

I was scrolling through YouTube last night and saw this thumb of a massive snake wrapped around a car. The title said 'Giant Anaconda Found in Florida Parking Lot!' and I almost clicked. Then I zoomed in and noticed the texture was all wrong. It had those ribbed plastic lines you see on a cheap garden hose. I spent 10 minutes going through the comments and someone finally pointed out it was a hose from a Lowes display. The video had like 2 million views. Makes me wonder how many other thumbnails I've fallen for that were just clever angles and props. Has anyone else caught a clear fake just by staring at the details too long?

Spent 4 hours trying to fix a "5 minute" YouTube thumbnail tutorial and still got it wrong

That 'perfect' beach photo headline vs. what I actually saw at Santa Monica Pier

I clicked this headline that said 'hidden gem beach with zero crowds' and it showed this empty stretch of sand. Got the family down there last Saturday and it was packed shoulder to shoulder, trash everywhere, and parking was $30. The photo was clearly taken at 6am on a Tuesday during off-season. Has anyone else noticed these travel sites using old pictures or weird angles to make places look totally different?

Got roasted for my "$500 saved" graphic on a penny-pinching video last month

I posted a thumbnail with a big red arrow pointing to a jar of coins that supposedly showed $500 saved in a month, but someone in the comments pointed out the jar only had like $30 in it max. They called me out for making the font huge to hide the small amount, and I realized they were right - I was totally exaggerating the savings for clicks. Has anyone else had a viewer catch you on a misleading detail in your thumbnail that you didn't think twice about?

Called out a food blogger for using stock photos instead of her own meals and got blocked within 10 minutes

I commented on her "homemade" lasagna post pointing out the exact stock photo site watermark in the corner, and she deleted my comment then banned me, but the image is still up and getting 12k likes as of yesterday - has anyone else noticed how many food accounts pull this trick?

TIL a $35 moisture meter saved my house from a mold nightmare

I bought a cheap pin-style moisture meter at Home Depot a couple months ago after a leak under my sink. Wandered into the crawlspace and poked around the joists near the bathroom and got readings in the 40s - way too wet. Turns out a slow pipe drip had been soaking the subfloor for months, and I caught it before the rot set in. Has anyone else used one of these to find hidden water damage?

I finally looked up whether those '5G causes bird death' headlines were real

There was this video going around with like a million views showing dead birds near a cell tower, captions saying 5G did it. I got curious and actually looked up the study they were referencing. Turns out the original research was about weather radar disorienting birds during migration, nothing to do with 5G at all. The video just slapped a 5G label on old footage from 2019. Has anyone else fact checked a viral video and found the source was completely different?