Got fooled by a thumbnail in Austin, now I screenshot everything before I click
Went to a live event in Austin back in March, some creator meetup thing, and a guy on a panel talked about how he builds thumbnails. He straight up admitted his team tests a fake shocked face on 20 different videos before they pick one, and the one that gets picked has nothing to do with the video. That got me thinking about how many times I have clicked something just from the red arrow and the big circle on the face. So now I screenshot every thumbnail before I click, and I keep a folder of the worst ones. Side A says fine, that is just how the game works, everyone knows the thumbnail is bait. Side B says nope, if the video does not deliver what the picture promised, that is a lie, not a stretch. I lean toward Side B, but I get why people say it is all just marketing. Where do you all draw the line between a catchy thumbnail and a flat out bait and switch?
Where does the line land for you when the thumbnail is technically from the video but it is the one crazy second out of 20 minutes? Like if they show a clip that is real but way out of context, does that still count as a lie to you or is that fair game?