In an announcement from YouTube, the company has updated its rules surrounding hate speech while focusing on reducing the distribution of conspiracy theories like QAnon.
YouTube had this to say:
“Today we’re further expanding both our hate and harassment policies to prohibit content that targets an individual or group with conspiracy theories that have been used to justify real-world violence. One example would be content that threatens or harrasses someone by suggesting they are complicit in one of these harmful conspiracies, such as QAnon or Pizzagate. As always, context matters, so news coverage on these issues or content discussing them without targeting individuals or protected groups may stay up. We will begin enforcing this updated policy today, and will ramp up in the weeks to come.”
The company said that they will be continuing to adapt policies so they will remain current, and are “committed to taking the steps needed to live up to this responsibility.”
Source – Social Media Today and YouTube Blog