Since the end of December, YouTube seems to have accelerated its policy a little more, which aims to demonetize videos containing the slightest vulgarity.
We say thank you AI. Because these are a priori the progress of the video platform’s moderation robot, which has made it possible to move towards even more polished content than it already was. And now, dropping a “shit” in a video could be enough for its creator to lose all monetization. Not without criticizing the method, the videographers nevertheless quickly adapted their content.
Swear words beeped, like on American TV
It’s a recent video from Squeezie that recently put the spotlight on the platform’s change in vulgarity rules. In this one, the biggest YouTuber in France receives rappers Vald and Naza for a long format constantly punctuated by beeps, each time they pronounce a swear word. Each beep is accompanied by the small monetization logo placed on the speaker’s mouth, to make the message clear to everyone.
Indeed, while the rules on the subject written in YouTube’s content policy have not changed for a while, their application has been done much more strictly for a few weeks, even a few months. Many videographers have noted this development, noting that sometimes a simple “shit” or even the use of the word “Rican” was enough to lose any monetization linked to the video.
True to form, the platform has not communicated on any change in the rules and leaves creators the freedom to discover them for themselves.
Conspiracy and harassment, okay, but saying “damn” on video is the red line
These demonetizations can be particularly difficult to live with insofar as it is possible to submit a complaint, but to receive a response to them is far from easy. Above all, we can understand the frustration of a gaming YouTuber who loses a source of income because he swears, while video trials coexist on the platform – not beeped – which explain that Satanist pedophiles control places of power.
It can also be difficult to accept the increasingly important part granted to robots to moderate the content present on the platform. Because their progress and their ability to understand new words has, and this story shows it very clearly, a direct impact on the content created and distributed on the platform.
Sources: Konbini, BFM TV
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