If the signal you are picking up from downvotes is that the channel must be hated in some way you should watch fewer outrage-bait/drama channels and more learning/tutorial channels. Some tutorial videos are made so confusingly and poorly, or worse teach incorrect information altogether, that the only signal for people to know "This video is absolute bollocks and you shouldn't waste your time watching it" is when he gets downvote bombed by anyone watching it. It's a single to then check the comments section where you'll probably see some comment explaining all the problems/incorrect parts of the video with more likes than the video itself has often with a recommendation to a better video on the topic.

Sure - channels absolutely used to be downvote bombed because people were mad at the content creator for whatever reason they may have had. But for a good section of videos the downvotes only spoke about the quality of the video itself and nothing about the content creator.

"Dislike" doesn't mean hate, personally I've only downvoted YouTube videos when they were badly made, or badly presented to the extent that almost any other video on the topic would be better.

It's not about hate, it's a signal that the video is probably going to be a waste of time for the watcher.

There are a lot of clickbait and fraud videos on YouTube. Fake trailers for upcoming movies, videos that pretend to be e.g. a SNL sketch but are just a collage of pictures with a synthesized voiceover, gaming streamers pretending there’s a live event “just about to start” on games like Fortnite.

There’s also disturbing “children’s videos” made by AIs, and fake lifehack or cooking videos that promise things like “if you microwave popcorn with M&Ms you get chocolate covered popcorn”, some of which show dangerous things that have resulted in accidents (e.g. people getting burnt with exploding eggs and the like).

> What a complicated process, all just to express your hatred.

Since when is a downvote equivalent to hate?

You've never downvoted anything on any website ever?

You clearly never used youtube much