- All right folks, once again,
it is me coming to you on a Thursday
as opposed to a Tuesday.
And that means that we're gonna touch
on the advertiser friendly content guidelines.
In other words, the rules of the road
that govern what is gonna get a green icon
and what is gonna get a yellow icon.
Now, as I've said before, we've beefed up
the advertiser friendly content guidelines page
to a huge degree.
If you compare it to what we had even a year ago,
there's a huge amount of text there.
Now that text can seem overwhelming,
but it's our effort to make things as clear
as we possibly can.
Let's take a look back through some of the comments
that we've had underneath the videos
that we've been putting out
and the answers that we provided to those comments.
Let's start off with a question from Accidental Science
who asks "welding, metalworking,
working on high voltage circuits or on chemicals are all
dangerous acts, even though nobody is injured.
I didn't notice any mention on these things.
So I suppose they are not considered dangerous,
from the point of view of ads.
Am I correct?"
So you are correct, broadly speaking,
you mentioned one word here that is important
to remember: injury.
If it is a tutorial where you're working on metalworking,
a welding exercise and are wearing protective gear,
that is 100% fully monetizeable
and will not receive the yellow icon.
However, if you have footage of somebody who, for example,
has their thumb chopped off,
or is bleeding as a result of an injury in a workshop,
that is not gonna be eligible for the green icon.
So just keep in mind injury there and distress,
if it's simply a tutorial of something that is dangerous,
but you're wearing all the protective gear
and professional gear, then that's fine for the green icon.
Next up, we have a question from Yogacharya Anupama Talk,
they said "please tell me about harmful
and controversial content.
What should we keep in mind so that the video will be
advertiser friendly and get that green icon?"
It's a really good question.
And it's important to note that not only
do all the advertiser friendly content guidelines apply
to all videos on YouTube,
there are separate ones that provide guidance
for certain scenarios.
So you're talking about two guidelines and not one.
That is harmful or dangerous acts as well as
controversial issues.
Now harmful or dangerous acts is gonna focus on acts
that probably shouldn't be imitated
or just feature dangerous scenarios
and you see somebody injured.
That's more than likely what's gonna get a yellow icon.
When it comes to controversial issues,
which I think is the core of your question,
you're providing an example that we see a lot,
which is the video may focus on an issue
that we have listed as controversial,
but you're actually saying something that is to the benefit
of the community and might be something
like an anti-suicide message,
a public service announcement.
And, broadly, that is safe for the green icon.
So long as it doesn't contain a first person account
of the scenario around a controversial issue.
If it's a testimonial saying I went through controversial
issue A, B or C,
that is something that's gonna get limited ads.
However, if you're reporting, for example,
on the rising rate of suicide
in a certain community or country,
that is something objectively put is going
to get the green icon.
Next question is from bridge4,
who asks about self-certification.
That questionnaire within the upload flow
that gives you guidance around what is eligible for ads,
but also the opportunity to maintain a high accuracy score.
That high accuracy score is gonna be really valuable
where our classifiers disagree with your decision.
If you have that highly trusted score,
we're gonna trust you over our automated classifiers.
Now, the question is,
"if we are conservative with our self certifications
and choose the top option,
which corresponds to eligible for ads,
is that eligible for the same level of ads
as none selected within self-certification."
The two options are basically equivalent one another.
What I would say though is just make sure you're considering
the advertiser friendly content guidelines with each upload.
It's very easy to get into the rhythm
of just choosing none automatically as you're going through
and not selecting any of the options
that may actually fit your content.
For example, limited ads or no ads,
make sure you protect
that self-certification accuracy score.
Next question is from Kee B who asks,
"I'm still kind of confused by making a firearm content.
For example, one of my channels is about 3D printers,
including CAM and CAD software for coding and design.
So if I demonstrate just the CAM/CAD software side
of designing the plastic lower of a firearm,
would that be a green icon?
Furthermore, if I created a second video
to show that being printed on the 3D printer,
would that be a green icon?"
Very complicated questions, very simple answer.
Neither of those scenarios would be eligible
for ads on YouTube
and if you're going through self-certification,
you should select the no ads option
under firearms related content.
Next up, we have a question from TJ Sports who asks,
"what about us news channels?
When we broadcast protests
and the authorities show their firearms.
Sometimes this happens during our live coverage.
I understand if they use them or somebody is injured
because of them, we will have the video blocked
from monetizing, but what if they're just displaying it?"
Well, TJ Sports,
if your newscast is showing a police officer or a person
simply holding a firearm, or for example,
if their hand is on it within their holster,
that is fine for the green icon,
that's not going to be demonetized.
What you have to be careful of when it comes
to protest footage is
if there is a violent interaction within the coverage
that you're showcasing,
that may fall under the violence guidelines,
you can find more information about that
in the advertiser friendly content guidelines page
linked below this video.
And with that, that is our Thursday upload.
Now, if you found this useful and you have a question,
drop it in the comments below, and we'll do another video,
just like this one in a couple of weeks
and run through any questions
that you may have a little bit of confusion about.
Thanks so much for tuning in
and I'll see you Tuesday for the newsflash.