FAQs: Update to YouTube’s Hate Speech Policies

Over the past few years, we’ve been investing in the policies, resources and products needed to live up to our responsibility and protect the YouTube community from harmful content. One of the most complex policy areas we deal with is hate speech and today we announced additional steps we’re taking to tackle hateful content on YouTube – read the full update on our blog and check out the FAQs below.

What exactly is changing with YouTube’s Hate Speech policy?
Today, YouTube does not allow content promoting hatred on the basis of these attributes: age, disability, ethnicity, gender, nationality, race, immigration status, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status – Hate Speech Policy.

That’s not changing but we’re expanding our hate speech policies in three areas:

What if my content violates YouTube’s Hate Speech policy based on these changes?
We understand that we’re changing the rules so if your video was uploaded before this announcement, it will only be removed without a strike. Any violative videos uploaded after the announcement will be removed with a strike. You’ll receive a notification and a message directly in YouTube when there is a violation.  Important note: Channels that are dedicated to violating these policies will be terminated.    

What if my videos already have featured disabled due to Hate Speech?
In some cases, you may already have videos that we’ve deemed controversial or offensive and we’ve disabled features on them. If these videos now violate our hate speech policies then we will remove them without a strike. You’ll receive a notification and a message directly in YouTube when the content is removed.

What if my content has educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic context?
We may allow content that includes hate speech if the primary purpose is educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic in nature. However, this is not a free pass to promote hate speech. Any educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic context must appear in the video or audio. For example, footage of hateful protests with only context in the title such as “Footages from the rally” is not allowed. The same footage may be allowed if it contained commentary from a news report in the video itself explaining the circumstances and making it clear to the viewer that the purpose of sharing the footage is not to promote hatred.

What if I’m trying to analyze online or offline hate speech, or cover controversial topics? Is that still allowed?
Yes, YouTube welcomes these discussions – even controversial ones –from diverse viewpoints so long as these discussions do not use the kinds of hate speech prohibited by our Community Guidelines. And remember, if your content contains hate speech because you’re trying to analyze or condemn hate, make sure you provide that context clearly in the content’s imagery or audio.

Do these Hate Speech policy changes also apply to comments?
Yes, these changes apply to videos, comments, or other content on YouTube. Don’t post anything anywhere on YouTube that might violate these policies.

One of the examples in your help center says it’s not allowed to say things like “[People with attributes noted above] are less intelligent than us because their brains are smaller.” What’s that all about?
Sometimes we see content that uses widely discredited pseudoscience to promote hateful messages and stereotypes. If we determine that pseudoscience or statistics are being used in content to promote hatred, we will treat that content as hate speech and remove it.

Can I appeal violations related to these Hate Speech Policy changes?
Yes, you can appeal a violation if you think the video content doesn’t violate our Community Guidelines. Make sure you’ve also read through our Hate Speech Policy.