YouTube announced it would require fan channels to identify themselves as unofficial to avoid confusion.
Beginning August 21, 2023, YouTube fan channels must indicate they are not the official account of the person or group they are fans of.
With this change, YouTube wants to protect genuine fan accounts and creators from people trying to trick others.
Fan Accounts Need to Stand Out, Says YouTube
YouTube’s new policy doesn’t specify how fan accounts need to describe themselves.
But the main idea is: viewers need to be able to tell a fan account from the official account.
In an announcement, YouTube states:
“If you operate a fan channel, you have to make it obvious in your channel name or handle that your channel doesn’t represent the original creator, artist or entity.”
YouTube provides the following examples of what’s not allowed under its new policy:
“For example, channels claiming to be a ‘fan account’, but actually posing as another’s channel and reuploading their content would not be allowed. Another example would be channels with the same name and avatar or banner as another channel, with the only difference being a space inserted into the name or a zero replacing the letter O, would not be allowed.”
YouTube’s Other Anti-Impersonation Measures
In addition to this policy change, YouTube has other measures to fight against impersonation.
These include limiting special characters in channel names and preventing channels from hiding their subscriber numbers.
A moderation tool in YouTube Studio lets creators filter out comments from accounts trying to look like them.
It’s an optional feature that allows creators to keep malicious actors from the comment section.
Looking Ahead
These changes are another step in the fight against impersonation on YouTube.
YouTube is showing it’s serious about cutting down on spam and deception.
As the company monitors this issue, we can likely expect more updates in the future.
Featured Image: photosince/Shutterstock
Source: Google
