They say that we should never judge a book by its cover—oh, but we all do! The title and cover image that content creators use can make or break their online career. And the sad truth is that no matter how good your content is, nobody will read or watch it if it’s not marketed the ‘right’ way. And a lot of that depends on pandering to constantly-changing algorithms, whether YouTube’s, Facebook’s, or something else.
So, naturally, content creators learn to adapt (their livelihoods depend on it!) and change how they make thumbnails, in order to please their AI overlords and capture their (potential) audience’s attention. However, the result is that some creators go waaaaaay too far.
The thumbnails they make are so over-the-top, so ridiculous that they’re in a league of their own. Here at Bored Panda, we’ve collected the most epic fails from all over the net to share with you. Check out just how bad things can get below, and don’t forget to upvote your fave worst offenders, Pandas! Are there any clickbaity thumbnails that you’d actually have clicked on? Tell us in the comments, we swear we won’t judge you.
Bored Panda reached out to content creator, comedian, and broadcaster Trev Lewis for a chat about thumbnails, keeping up with algorithm changes, as well as whether or not a bad thumbnail might mean that otherwise quality content will be ignored. Read on for our full interview with him!
#1 This Youtube Ad
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Image source: Drummer_0000
#2 Great Chase
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Image source: Top_Celery9396
#3 Why? Just Why?
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Image source: TheTipArrowNations
#4 Doing Yoga With A Baby

Image source: professor_abee
#5 I Can’t Stop Laughing
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Image source: wakugandan-chubungus
#6 Pretty Sure The Second Image In This Thumbnail Is A Dog Holding A Pinecone
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Image source: FlipSide97
#7 Youtube Clickbait Thumbnails That Get Millions Of Views
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Image source: DanFlaylen
#8 Oh, This Thumbnail Sure Is Unforgettable
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Image source: Paparazzi14
#9 Are You Still Going To Complain About Leg Space In Economy Class Flights?
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Image source: magnemist
#10 Yes, That Looks Very Real
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Image source: buttercream-gang
#11 Wow Gordon, That Cookie Must’ve Been Delicious
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Image source: reddit.com
#12 Scariest Bridge
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Image source: Silvanarix
#13 Not A Single Element In This Thumbnail Is Real
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Image source: Camwood7, Perplexify
#14 This Clickbait
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Image source: Elatedwanted
#15 Amazing Thumbnail

Image source: adamboultwood
#16 Is This Where Milk Comes From?
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Image source: vivo78
#17 Youtube Thumbnail Gone Too Far
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Image source: Kage_BunshinNo_Jutsu
#18 I Deserve An Award For Finding The Worst Thumbnail Ever
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Image source: IGotAccountToAskthis
#19 They’ve Gone Too Far
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Image source: FighterX9
#20 Talk About Thumbnails
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Image source: Phone_Confident
#21 No Way
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Image source: FerencS
#22 Crazy Basketball Thumbnail
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Image source: Harvickfan4Life
#23 This Youtube Thumbnail I Came Across
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Image source: Random_Cat66
#24 Wow, Spider-Man Got Ripped
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Image source: Dibbik
#25 He Could Have Photoshopped More

Image source: DylanTop5
#26 This Youtube Thumbnail
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Image source: roxyclean
#27 Think Someone Used The Completely Wrong Thumbnail
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Image source: bmartin1989
#28 Fast Dogs
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Image source: Cuber_01
#29 This Clickbait. Yes, So Many People Have Toe Teeth

Image source: GeezerEbaneezer
#30 Seriously, Who Allows These Thumbnails?
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Image source: Kitkats213
#31 Fighting Through The Tears. Remember To Like And Subscribe, Guys. This Is So Hard. Merch 20% Off
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Image source: jimmyraid
#32 Her Posture Was So Bad It Made Her Arms Bigger And Bent The Door Behind Her
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Image source: LambSauce26
#33 This Shameful Clickbait Thumbnail Of Liv Tyler
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Image source: idigholes
#34 Bald People
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Image source: masarusenpai
#35 Third Most Subscribed Youtube Channel Uses The Most Questionable Thumbnails I’ve Ever Seen. Some Of Them Encouraging The Use Of Hot Glue In Extremely Dangerous Ways
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Image source: HaC3rPr0
#36 These Clickbait Youtube Videos
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Image source: Hipped_Orange22
#37 The Thumbnail For This Fake Story Is A Call Of Duty Map
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Image source: Laggin-N-Swaggin
#38 Channels That Clickbait You With Red Circles On Nothing
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Image source: yomyoo
#39 It’s In The Water, It’s A Mammal, Probably A Dolphin
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Image source: CIoverload
#40 Lizard Brain
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Image source: ocso639
#41 Why Is She Like That
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Image source: emlgs
#42 Idc Bye
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Image source: 7olenge
#43 Worst Thumbnail I’ve Ever Seen
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Image source: Sxy_rexy
#44 Cursed Clickbait

Image source: chandlerriggs
#45 Nice Arm, Ted
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Image source: SugarSpunSister90
#46 Duck vs. Car
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Image source: DiverGaming
#47 Remember This Match Arsenal Scored A Powerful Goal Against Chelsea That Broke The Goalpost

Image source: paddyarsenal
#48 Bidinflation
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Image source: Dr_Occisor
#49 When You Only Have One Thumbnail For News From NLR
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Image source: orangutantrm88
#50 Eh, Close Enough
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Image source: JohnMuirIsMyHomeboy
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