The scariest message an online news outlet/media company can get is a Community Guidelines violation, “Our team has reviewed your content, and, unfortunately, we think it violates our spam, deceptive practices, and scams policy.” Here is how I handled it successfully.
Hi FName, LName
Our team has reviewed your content, and, unfortunately, we think it violates our spam, deceptive practices and scams policy. We’ve removed the following content from YouTube:
Video: XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX
We know that this might be disappointing, but it’s important to us that YouTube is a safe place for all. If content breaks our rules, we remove it. If you think we’ve made a mistake, you can appeal and we’ll take another look. Keep reading for more details. How your content violated the policy
Content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches changed the outcome of the U.S. 2020 presidential election is not allowed on YouTube.
How this affects your channel
Because it’s the first time, this is just a warning. If it happens again, your channel will get a strike and you won’t be able to do things like upload, post, or live stream for 1 week.
What to do next
We want to help you stay on YouTube, so please:
- Make sure you understand YouTube’s Community Guidelines and strikes basics.
- Review your content with our policies in mind. If after reviewing your content you think we made a mistake, let us know. You can appeal this decision here.
Sincerely,
The YouTube Team
After receiving the note, I immediately clicked on the appeal button. I follow all the rules. In less than an hour, my appeal was rejected. I could not believe it.
Hi FName, LName
We have reviewed your appeal for the following content:
Video: XXX XXX XXX XXX XXX
We reviewed your content carefully, and have confirmed that it violates our spam, deceptive practices and scams policy. We know this is probably disappointing news, but it’s our job to make sure that YouTube is a safe place for all.
How this affects your channel
Content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches changed the outcome of the U.S. 2020 presidential election is not allowed on YouTube.
Sincerely,
The YouTube Team
There was now a warning on my account. That meant the next time someone thinks I violated a community guideline, my account would be shutdown for 1 week, a killer for a media company. The next strike could cause one to lose their YouTube account.
I could not accept the possibility of losing my account for doing nothing wrong. I decided to fight. I went to YouTube Studio and click on the Chat button to reach someone in real time.
I got a very nice YouTube representative who tried his best to help. He kept getting the message from the YouTube powers that appeals are final. He said he could not help me anymore. I did my best to keep that chat open. Each time he said appeals are final I would tell him I needed a recourse. I told him the mistake with his appeal team is would destroy a media company doing good work since much was built on the platform. I told him my fate should not depend on someone who may have a bias or simply made a mistake.
Bottom line, I persisted. I did not allow this nice person to shoo me off. In the last message before I got more engagement, I told him I reread every item in the YouTube Community Guidelines and re-watched my entire video. My video was truthful and violated none of their rules. After my 5th or 6th five-minute chat hold, he told me to check to see if the appeal button came back. It did.
The YouTube guy told me to appeal again and try to be more descriptive in the appeal. I did. In less than 10 minutes I received the following.
Hi FName, LName
We have reviewed your appeal for the following content:
Video: Chuck TXXX XXX XXX XXX XXX
After taking another look, we can confirm that your content does not violate our Community Guidelines.
Thanks for your patience while we reviewed this appeal. Our goal is to make sure content doesn’t violate our Community Guidelines so that YouTube can be a safe place for all – and sometimes we make mistakes trying to get it right. We’re sorry for any frustration our mistake caused you, and we appreciate you letting us know.
How this affects your channel
We’ve reinstated your content. If your appeal was for a warning, you’ll be allowed another warning in the future. If your appeal was for a strike, we’ve removed the strike against your channel.
You can find more information about warnings and strikes at the YouTube Help Center.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out to us here.
Sincerely,
The YouTube Team
If you know that you did not violate any YouTube Community Guidelines, it is important that you fight for your position. Remember, these reviewers have to deal with millions of YouTubers including many who are disingenuous. They cannot discern who you are and their bias is generally not in your favor once you get to them. The problem is people who do not like what you do could be the ones that start the process of hurting your channel.