Does ANYONE like autoplaying videos on news sites / articles?

https://feddit.nl/post/12194936

Does ANYONE like autoplaying videos on news sites / articles? - feddit.nl

In today’s fast-paced digital world, we often rely on various online platforms to quench our thirst for knowledge, information, and entertainment. Among these platforms, news websites hold a significant position as they allow us to stay updated about current events across the globe. However, despite their essential role in delivering crucial content, many of these sites have resorted to irritating tactics that negatively impact user experience. One such tactic is the automatic playback of videos accompanied by full audio when one opens their webpage. This practice has become increasingly common among news sites due to the belief that users prefer a multimedia experience over plain text articles. However, there is no empirical evidence to support this assumption. On the contrary, many have raised concerns over these autoplaying videos. These concerns range from audio intrusion into private spaces, lack of control over sound output, to the consumption of data and battery life on mobile devices. The most prominent criticism against this practice stems from the mismatch between the video’s subject matter and the article itself. In other words, these videos are unrelated to the content of the page and often serve solely as advertisements, disruptive interfaces, or attempts at misleading engagement metrics. Does ANYONE actually like these videos? I typically scramble to find the close and/or mute button as soon as I can. Infuriating.

Google news is my go to… I’m sure someone can tell me why that’s bad and that I’m stupid ):

I am in the habit of right click, open in new tab… then as that tab is loading, right click the tab and ‘mute tab’.

I’m using Firefox but I’m sure the other browsers have a mute tab function.

I seriously just want to read articles. I don’t want some loud bullshit screaming at me every time I open an article.

You can set Firefox to block auto-play, even if you open the tab in the foreground, put uBlock origin on top of it and you get rid of most of those annoying videos.
Sweet, I am liking Firefox more and more after making the switch a few months ago