YouTube Shorts is set for a significant change, as Google moves to reduce the distribution of short-form videos that copy existing material without adding anything original. The company is revising its recommendation systems to favour original content while limiting the reach of videos re-uploaded from other creators that have not been meaningfully improved.
The aim is to ensure the short-form clips appearing in users’ feeds deliver greater value. By focusing on genuine creativity, Google hopes to improve the overall quality of content while helping creators who produce original work to grow their audiences.
How Google Decides Which Shorts You See
To determine which videos appear as recommendations, Google evaluates billions of signals. These include a user’s watch history and topic interests, all used to tailor the viewing experience. Under the revised approach, channels largely built on sharing other people’s work, usually centred on a particular theme, without making significant changes, will face reduced distribution.
Google notes that deprioritising re-uploaded material aligns with the policies already established by the Alphabet subsidiary. For creators, the blog points out that certain channels will see their reach decline, which can directly affect their earnings.
What Counts as Copied Content
A clear example involves prank phone calls that circulate widely across feeds. Many of these are copies of material originally produced by Seattle radio station MOViN 92.5, created by the station’s morning team of Brooke and Jubal, later renamed Brooke and Jeffrey after Jubal departed.
Even when an aggregating channel overlays the words of a prank call, known as a Phone Tap, or shows driving footage while the original audio plays, Google does not regard these as meaningful changes. Videos that overlay driving footage on top of borrowed audio are precisely the type of content targeted for reduced distribution.
Rather than making small technical edits or simply altering a video’s template to register some form of change, Google encourages creators to bring their own voice to the material they share. The company describes creative formats as a vibrant part of the platform and suggests that creators think of themselves as storytellers, offering their own point of view to the audience.
Under the updated system, original content will be prioritised in recommendations, while re-uploaded videos lacking significant additions will see their reach reduced.
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Image: phonearena.com
