Types of YouTube spam
Bot comment waves on new YouTube uploads
A bot wave is a burst of spam comments that arrives on a video shortly after it is published, while it is getting its most attention. On channels RemoveSpam protects, 90% of spam lands within the first 24 hours of an upload, and between six and 24 hours after publishing, spam makes up more than three quarters of all new comments.
By Dan, founder of RemoveSpam · Updated
- of spam arrives within 24 hours of an upload
- 90%
- of comments posted 6 to 24 hours after upload are spam
- 78%
- busiest hour for spam; weekends are about 25% quieter
- 16:00 UTC
Source: RemoveSpam removal data, October 2025 to November 2026, from YouTube channels protected by RemoveSpam (mostly crypto, finance and tech).
What it looks like
The $8m ICO sell-out on Bitaxum is insane.
Real, removed by RemoveSpamThe same sentence, posted by eight different accounts
Real examples are quoted as posted. Author names are hidden and phone numbers partly redacted.
Why bots target new uploads
A new video gets most of its views, and most of its comment-section readers, in the first day. Spam campaigns want the largest audience for the least effort, so they watch channels and post as soon as a video starts to gain traction. Comments posted early also tend to sit near the top of the thread.
In RemoveSpam’s data, spam outnumbers genuine comments at every stage from five minutes to 24 hours after upload. Real viewers comment first, in the first few minutes; the bots arrive soon after and keep coming. After the first week, spam on a video drops to almost nothing.
What this means for moderation
The hours that matter most are the hours right after you publish, which are often the hours you are busy, offline or asleep. Checking comments the next morning means the wave has already done its work. This is why RemoveSpam checks your newest video every minute and older videos on a gradually slower schedule: protection is concentrated where the spam actually is.
How to reduce it with YouTube’s own tools
Holding comments for review during the first hours after an upload can blunt a wave on a smaller channel, at the cost of real comments waiting too. Blocked words help against the names a campaign is currently pushing.
- In YouTube Studio, open Settings → Community and add blocked words: coin names, “WhatsApp”, “Telegram”, and the phrases you keep seeing.
- In the same place, turn on blocking links so comments with URLs are held for review.
- Under comment settings, hold potentially inappropriate comments for review, and increase strictness if spam keeps getting through.
- On any spam comment, use “Hide user from channel” so that account’s comments stop appearing to everyone else.
How RemoveSpam handles this: Real-time spam deletion.
Common questions
Why do I get a flood of spam comments right after I upload?
Because that is when your video has the most viewers. Spam campaigns monitor channels and post within minutes to hours of a new upload. In RemoveSpam’s data, 90% of spam on a video arrives in its first 24 hours.
Do bot comments stop after a while?
Mostly. Spam on a video falls sharply after the first day and is close to zero after the first week. Older videos that keep getting traffic can still attract some.
Other types of YouTube spam
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