Tag Archives: YouTube

Axios reports: YouTube has barred One America News Network from posting new videos for a week and stripped it of its ability to make money off existing content after the Trump-friendly channel uploaded a video promoting a phony cure for COVID-19, YouTube spokesperson Ivy Choi tells Axios. YouTube has been criticized for allowing OANN to spread misinformation using its platform, …

Variety reports: YouTube will not produce its annual YouTube Rewind celebratory recap video this year — with the video giant saying it doesn’t feel appropriate, given the chaos of 2020. YouTube announced the decision to scrap Rewind in a statement on Twitter. “Since 2010, we’ve ended the year with Rewind: a look back at the year’s most impactful creators, videos …

The Washington Post reports: YouTube on Thursday became the latest social media giant to take steps to stop QAnon, the sprawling pro-Trump conspiracy theory community whose online fantasies about a cabal of satanic pedophiles running the world have spilled over into offline violence. The company announced in a blog post that it was updating its hate speech and harassment policies …

The BBC reports: YouTube has pledged to delete misleading claims about coronavirus vaccines as part of a fresh effort to tackle Covid-19 misinformation. It said any videos that contradict expert consensus from local health authorities, such as the NHS or World Health Organization, will be removed. It follows an announcement by Facebook that it would ban ads that discourage people …

CNN Business reports: For years, YouTube has faced challenges over the types of content it removes, from terrorist propaganda and hate speech to misinformation about vaccines. It’s now struggling over what to do about the QAnon conspiracy theory. In an interview with CNN’s Poppy Harlow for the Boss Files podcast, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki stopped short of pledging to ban …

Courthouse News reports: Just over one-fourth of American adults are turning to YouTube to get their news from both big media organizations and independent producers, according to a Pew Research Center study released Monday. Researchers surveyed over 12,600 U.S. adults in January after analyzing 377 popular news-producing YouTube channels. They found that 26% of all respondents said they get news …

Axios reports: Google informed its advertisers Friday that it will broadly block election ads after polls close Nov. 3, according to an email obtained by Axios. Why it matters: Big Tech platforms have been under pressure to address how their ad policies will handle conflicts over the presidential election’s outcome. Facebook recently said that it will no longer accept new …

Axios reports: The Trump campaign is going all in on digital advertising for the Republican National Convention, with plans to take over the YouTube masthead and flood Facebook, Google and streaming services like Hulu with pro-Trump messaging. The big picture: The massive digital ad buy — which is in the high seven figures, according to the campaign — will complement …

Jared Holt reports at Right Wing Watch: YouTube terminated the account on its platform used by white nationalist hate group VDARE for violating the site’s policies against hate speech, a YouTube spokesperson told Right Wing Watch. This time last year, VDARE was suspended and reinstated on the platform, but a YouTube spokesperson told RWW that this suspension is permanent. “A …

The Verge reports: YouTube has banned several prominent white supremacist channels, including those belonging to Stefan Molyneux, David Duke, and Richard Spencer. Other channels banned include American Renaissance (with its associated channel AmRen Podcasts) and the channel for Spencer’s National Policy Institute. The channels repeatedly violated YouTube’s policies, a YouTube spokesperson said, by alleging that members of protected groups were …

The Christian Post reports: “This video has been removed for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines,” reads a message on the now blocked audiobook video by theologian John Piper, the chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minnesota and the founder of DesiringGod.org. The video got over 187,000 views within roughly five weeks that it remained on the platform. It was released …

Reuters reports: Alphabet Inc’s YouTube said on Friday it will reduce its streaming quality in the European Union to avert internet gridlock as thousands of Europeans, constrained by the coronavirus outbreak, switch to working from home. YouTube is the second company after Netflix to act after EU industry chief Thierry Breton urged streaming platforms to cut the quality of their …

TechCrunch reports: YouTube today announced a change in policy regarding the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. Previously, YouTube’s advertising guidelines prevented monetization of videos that included more than a passing mention of the coronavirus as part of its “sensitive events” policy. The policy is meant to protect advertisers from being associated with videos about things like mass shootings, terrorist acts, armed …

Jared Holt reports at Right Wing Watch: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Prager University, a nonprofit organization created by right-wing commentator Dennis Prager, had no legal ground to stand on in its lawsuit against Google and YouTube, which alleged the companies violated Prager University’s First Amendment rights by “censoring” its videos. The court’s ruling, first …

Bloomberg News reports: In the immediate run up to the U.S. presidential election and on Election Day, the homepage of YouTube is set to advertise just one candidate: Donald Trump. The president’s re-election campaign purchased the coveted advertising space atop the country’s most-visited video website for early November, said two people with knowledge of the transaction. The deal ensures Trump …

A reminder via the New York Times: To coordinate coverage of President Trump’s trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the White House provided press credentials to the usual mix of American news organizations, including Fox News, Reuters and The New York Times. One media outlet stood out: TruNews, a website aimed at conservative Christians whose founder, a …

The Associated Press reports: YouTube is making clear there will be no “birtherism” on its platform during this year’s U.S. presidential election. Also banned: Election-related “deepfake” videos and anything that aims to mislead viewers about voting procedures and how to participate in the 2020 census. The Google-owned video service clarified its rules ahead of the Iowa caucuses Monday. The company …

The BBC reports: A well known Moroccan YouTuber has been jailed for four years after being found guilty of insulting the country’s king. Mohamed Sekkaki [photo] was arrested earlier this month after criticising King Mohammed’s speeches and for calling Moroccans donkeys. He plans to appeal against the verdict. Rights groups are worried that personal freedoms are under increasing threat in …

The Verge reports: YouTube today announced an expansion of its anti-harassment policy that will ban video creators from insulting one another on the basis of their race, gender expression, or sexual orientation — even if the person they are insulting is a popular creator, celebrity, politician, or other public figure. The new policy comes several months after YouTube was criticized …

CBS News reports: In response to concerns raised after the 2016 election cycle, Google and YouTube, like Facebook, keep a searchable archive of political ads that have run on the site. 60 Minutes reviewed the archive to learn more about President Trump’s problematic political ads. We found that over 300 video ads were taken down by Google and YouTube, mostly …