YouTube Announces Additional Tools For Creators, Algorithm For Flagging Comments

Google just announced that it will soon be rolling out new tools for YouTube creators that would allow them to have more control over the comments section. Also, Content creators on YouTube will be able to interact more with their subscribers and be able to easily review potentially offensive comments.

In the near future, YouTubers will be able to pin a specific comment on top of the the comments feed. Creators will also be able to “heart” comments to acknowledge some of their audience. For creators who like leaving comments themselves, their usernames will now be highlighted when they leave a comment. Their usernames will appear under the text with a color around it making it easier for the audience to know that the comment came from them.

As a lot of people already know, the YouTube comments section can be abused by users. Some leave offensive, racist and or sexist comments mongering hate in the YouTube community. This is why YouTube will now be giving creators an additional tool to combat these types of comments.

A new automated feature will be able to identify if a comment has offensive language. This type of comments will then be held off from appearing in the comments section, so that the creator will be able to review it. Creators will be able to approve, hide or report these comments.

This new feature is actually more of an extension to the already existing tool that allows creators to blacklist certain words and phrases. The main difference here is that YouTube is running its own algorithm that’s able to identify if a comment shares the same characteristics with other comments that have already been removed by creators in the past, according to CNET.

The feature is currently in beta, and creators have the choice of turning it on or off. YouTube also says that the algorithm that it’s using will also get better in time as it takes into account the creator’s past comment reviews.

“We realize that comments play a key role in growing this connection and we’re dedicated to making your conversations with your community easier and more personal,” YouTube said in its blog post. “We also want to continue to help you shape the tone of your conversations on YouTube.”

These new additional features are part of YouTube’s initiative on further helping content creators have more control over their channels. Earlier this year, YouTube also launched a feature that allows creators to delegate moderation in order to manage comments. Creators will now also be able to choose these moderators themselves.