It's a known algorithm/click bait trick to put your face in the thumbnail. Videos with the creator's face is visible get more views than videos with just a voice over. It's created problems for non-white and/or "unattractive" creators because people are assholes. If I remember right, VideoGameDunkey Kong (or whatever his name is) is black and he probably got more views because he hid his ethnicity.
It's a known algorithm/click bait trick to put your face in the thumbnail. Videos with the creator's face is visible get more views than videos with just a voice over. It's created problems for non-white and/or "unattractive" creators because people are assholes. If I remember right, VideoGameDunkey Kong (or whatever his name is) is black and he probably got more views because he hid his ethnicity.