There is often a lot of confusion surrounding YouTube’s monetization policies with a lot of users claiming that they simply don’t understand how the video streaming platform decides these things and a lot of them suggesting that the monetization policies are somehow unfairly targeting certain niches and the like. YouTube has now shed some light on this aspect and a big part of this has involved YouTube confirming that social justice themed content that talks about movements like Black Lives Matter are definitely suitable for monetization according to their policies.
Conversely, white supremacist content as well as any other kind of content that can contribute to prejudice or violence against minorities cannot be monetized. YouTube also showed a tool that brands can use to find content that can suit their particular kind of demographic, but stated that this tool does not decide who can be monetized and when. Hence, brands might be able to target demographics by searching for content that is relevant to them, but even videos that do not find relevancy with brands will inevitably get monetized so long as their content does not violate any of YouTube’s policies.
One thing to note is that a lot of terms have been blocked despite not being harmful in and of themselves because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing creators to target each other’s videos which can lead to a very toxic environment on the platform. A creator being able to advertise on another creator’s video is not exactly ideal, and it can lead to an increase in a lot of the YouTube drama that often ends up turning the platform into a sensationalized form of media that is not beneficial to anyone.
Another thing that should be kept in mind is that hateful and negative terminology is not always banned by YouTube. Channels and videos that are discussing these terms in the context of news or general information can still use them without having to worry about their content being removed. This will come as a relief to a lot of YouTubers who focus on news in their content since they often worry about being monetized. All in all the information provided by YouTube should go a long way towards helping people better understand how they can earn money by uploading videos to the platform.
Read next: Google's YouTube Introduces Second Generation Argos Chip for Better Video Quality and Cut Down Network Use
Conversely, white supremacist content as well as any other kind of content that can contribute to prejudice or violence against minorities cannot be monetized. YouTube also showed a tool that brands can use to find content that can suit their particular kind of demographic, but stated that this tool does not decide who can be monetized and when. Hence, brands might be able to target demographics by searching for content that is relevant to them, but even videos that do not find relevancy with brands will inevitably get monetized so long as their content does not violate any of YouTube’s policies.
One thing to note is that a lot of terms have been blocked despite not being harmful in and of themselves because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing creators to target each other’s videos which can lead to a very toxic environment on the platform. A creator being able to advertise on another creator’s video is not exactly ideal, and it can lead to an increase in a lot of the YouTube drama that often ends up turning the platform into a sensationalized form of media that is not beneficial to anyone.
Another thing that should be kept in mind is that hateful and negative terminology is not always banned by YouTube. Channels and videos that are discussing these terms in the context of news or general information can still use them without having to worry about their content being removed. This will come as a relief to a lot of YouTubers who focus on news in their content since they often worry about being monetized. All in all the information provided by YouTube should go a long way towards helping people better understand how they can earn money by uploading videos to the platform.
Read next: Google's YouTube Introduces Second Generation Argos Chip for Better Video Quality and Cut Down Network Use
