Elections Misinformation Policy: YouTube Community Guidelines
True or false
Telling your viewers you can vote in a
presidential election online in countries or regions where that's not allowed can
result in your channel receiving a strike or being terminated.
The answer is: True.
Certain types of misinformation that can
cause real-world harm go against our Community Guidelines ,and are not allowed on
YouTube.
For example, uploading misleading or deceptive content that
interferes with democratic processes can result in a Community Guideline strike, or
other consequences for your channel. Let's walk through some of the
elections-related content that we don't allow on YouTube.
First, content that promotes voter suppression. This includes
content that aims to mislead voters about the time, place, means or eligibility
requirements for voting.
It also includes content that promotes false claims that strongly
discourage voting .Next, content that promotes false claims about candidate
eligibility. We don't allow content that advances false claims related to the
technical eligibility requirements to serve in office.
This includes both current political candidates and sitting
elected government officials. The eligibility requirements that are considered are
based on applicable national law and include age, citizenship and vital status. And
we don't allow content that encourages viewers to interfere with democratic
processes.
This includes obstructing or interrupting voting procedures. As
with all of our Community Guidelines, context is very important. If you want to
post content on these topics for educational, documentary scientific or artistic
purposes, sometimes referred to as EDSA be sure to provide enough information so
viewers understand the context.
Now that you know some of the elections-related content we
don't allow let's take a look at an example. In one video, a creator uploads a
video telling viewers an incorrect voting date. In another video, a news segment
covers a story about a group that called voters to say the election was
cancelled.
The news video includes lots of context explaining how the
election was actually not cancelled. Do either of these videos violate our
Community Guidelines? Yes. The first video violates our Elections Misinformation
Policy. We don't allow content that promotes voter suppression.
The news segment, on the other hand, gives the audience
context and was uploaded for educational, documentary, scientific or artistic
purposes. The safety of our creators, viewers and partners is our highest
priority.
We look to each of you to help us protect this unique and
vibrant community. So it's important you understand our Community Guidelines and
the role they play in our shared responsibility to keep YouTube safe.