Overview

• Rene Ritchie, YouTube’s creator liaison, confirmed an ongoing experiment that applies deblurring, denoising and sharpening to select Shorts during processing and said it does not use generative AI or upscaling.
• Creators including Rick Beato and Rhett Shull posted side‑by‑side comparisons showing over‑sharpened hair, smoothed skin and occasional warping that made their videos look subtly altered.
• YouTube said it is building an opt‑out for affected creators after complaints that post‑upload changes were made without consent or disclosure.
• Reports and user threads trace similar visual artifacts back to at least June, indicating the processing has been active for months before YouTube publicly acknowledged it.
• Researchers and commentators warn that undisclosed automated edits by platforms can erode creator ownership and viewer trust, increasing calls for clearer labeling and transparency.