Often the videos hitting those numbers are baiting on price and fear. Ad blockers help for sure. I made a video about blocking YouTube ads and I don't allow any on my channel, but YouTube still profits off channels that don't monetise and just doesn't pay the creator. The affiliate side is more insidious because many creators don't disclose them or use cloaked tracking links. Even if you're paying attention, you can't really tell when they all look the same. It's on the viewer to pay attention, but most people don't know how the creator economy runs, which is one of the reasons I wrote this article.