YouTube announced plans on Wednesday to remove thousands of videos and channels that advocate for neo-Nazism, white supremacy and other bigoted ideologies in an attempt to clean up extremism and hate speech on its popular service.



The new policy will ban "videos alleging that a group is superior in order to justify discrimination, segregation or exclusion," the company said in a blog post. The prohibition will also cover videos denying that violent incidents, like the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, took place.



YouTube did not name any specific channels or videos that would be banned.



"It's our responsibility to protect that, and prevent our platform from being used to incite hatred, harassment, discrimination and violence," the company said in the blog post.



[...] The kind of content that will be prohibited under YouTube's new hate speech policies includes videos that claim Jews secretly control the world, those that say women are intellectually inferior to men and therefore should be denied certain rights, or that suggest that the white race is superior to another race, a YouTube spokesman said.



Channels that post some hateful content, but that do not violate YouTube's rules with the majority of their videos, may receive strikes under YouTube's three-strike enforcement system, but would not be immediately banned.



The company also said that channels that "repeatedly brush up against our hate speech policies," but don't violate them outright, would be removed from YouTube's advertising program, which allows channel owners to share in the advertising revenue their videos generate.



In addition to tightening its hate speech rules, YouTube announced it would also tweak its recommendation algorithm, the automated software that shows users videos based on their interests and past viewing habits. This algorithm is responsible for more than 70 percent of overall time spent on YouTube, and has been a major engine for the platform's growth.

Today, we're taking another step in our hate speech policy by specifically prohibiting videos alleging that a group is superior in order to justify discrimination, segregation or exclusion based on qualities like age, gender, race, caste, religion, sexual orientation or veteran status. This would include, for example, videos that promote or glorify Nazi ideology, which is inherently discriminatory. Finally, we will remove content denying that well-documented violent events, like the Holocaust or the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, took place.



We recognize some of this content has value to researchers and NGOs looking to understand hate in order to combat it, and we are exploring options to make it available to them in the future. And as always, context matters, so some videos could remain up because they discuss topics like pending legislation, aim to condemn or expose hate, or provide analysis of current events. We will begin enforcing this updated policy today; however, it will take time for our systems to fully ramp up and we’ll be gradually expanding coverage over the next several months.

Freedom of speech does not mean freedom to slander.



Freedom of expression does not mean freedom to incite violence against Jews or other minorities.



More needs to be done to keep #hate off their platform, but this a step in the right direction for @YouTube. https://t.co/hi000cHDHw — Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) June 5, 2019

YouTube has banned black metal musician Varg Vikernes' channel. For those who don't know who Varg is, read the whole thing https://t.co/rQSVfzg6Ta — Scott Greer (@ScottMGreer) June 5, 2019

Azov Battalion Media banned from Youtube



RIP pic.twitter.com/YDtOeVOe9o — Ｒｅｇｕｌｕｓ をゝす 🏳️‍🌈⃠ (@RegulusAnon) June 5, 2019

Looks like my YouTube channel was nuked without warning or prior strikes



“Hate speech”



Guess it was imagined, as I never said anything against other groups, just positive things about my heritage



No worries, vids are all saved and I’ll pop back up 😎

I know this is a marathon — The Great Order (@TheGreatOrderIs) June 5, 2019

YouTube appears to be deleting videos at random based on title only. This was a discussion about the future of a political movement and contained no content that violated YouTube policies. pic.twitter.com/E7SfZepaBA — J.-François 🐭 Gariépy (@JFGariepy) June 5, 2019

Steven Crowder has been Stripped of Monetization.



But so have other unrelated Journalists.



Carlos Maza and Vox have just gone Scorched earth on ALL Youtubers and Independent Journalists.https://t.co/6cJeNqYKdG — Tim Pool (@Timcast) June 5, 2019

Send a special thank you to Vox and Carlos Maza.



The purge has just begun and legit journalists are getting stripped https://t.co/tQSRNr9Rbl — Tim Pool (@Timcast) June 5, 2019

New Blog Post! - BREAKING: They Just Shut Me Down - I NEED Your Help Now More Than Ever! : https://t.co/LI9vv8cTFE @dandickspft — Press For Truth (@PressForTruth) June 5, 2019

These monsters are truly merciless.

YouTube shuts of my ability to make ad revenue on my videos. Not the best timing considering the family situation, but I never expected them to be reasonable.



In case you want to support the channel: https://t.co/SBmIONqJzm pic.twitter.com/9bWk6lpjJP — The Golden One (@TheGloriousLion) June 5, 2019

Looks like new YouTube rules have kicked off a new crackdown that goes beyond Steven Crowder. White nationalists James Allsup and "The Golden One" say they've also been demonetized, while Gavin McInnes says he's had a video deleted. pic.twitter.com/awbR3EF9M7 — Will Sommer (@willsommer) June 5, 2019

A video with the title LOVE YOUR PEOPLE was removed. Crazy that loving White people is too much for youtube. pic.twitter.com/7JJht7S1e2 — Jack Green🌲⚡️ (@JackGreenYT) June 5, 2019

YouTube have banned me for 'hate speech', I think due to clips on Nazi policy featuring propaganda speeches by Nazi leaders. I'm devastated to have this claim levelled against me, and frustrated 15yrs of materials for #HistoryTeacher community have ended so abruptly.@TeamYouTube — Mr Allsop History (@MrAllsopHistory) June 5, 2019

Dear @TeamYouTube will @colbertlateshow be demonetized on YouTube now for saying mean things about fellow YouTuber @realDonaldTrump ?????? https://t.co/JDTg0QCmeD — KEEM 🍿 (@KEEMSTAR) June 5, 2019

Hey @YouTube , does Colbert’s video skit of me getting shot violate your standards also or are you only specifically demonetizing conservatives? https://t.co/Kq1J7QybKC https://t.co/WjxyX8PPhB — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) June 5, 2019

Bahahaha what?!? You mean to tell me Carlos went scorched earth on ALL of Youtube getting legit journalists and creators stripped and all Crowder has to do is remove the one t shirt???



Pure insanity.... https://t.co/AOKKheIQmG — Tim Pool (@Timcast) June 5, 2019

Sorry for the confusion, we were responding to your tweets about the T-shirts. Again, this channel is demonetized due to continued egregious actions that have harmed the broader community. To be reinstated, he will need to address all of the issues with his channel. — TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) June 5, 2019

My tiny youtube channel, that may have had 2k views total, to the extent these things are accurately reported, only had poems. No racial epithets appeared in the poems. In fact, race itself was never mentioned. A reader of Kipling's Stranger was probably the edgiest. pic.twitter.com/Fllkrp2PdX — MarkBrahmin (@MarkBrahmin) June 5, 2019

#VoxAdpocalypse got my channel with 100k subs demonetized, no reason given. pic.twitter.com/e15LZQLPdr — Adam Green 🌐 (@Know_More_News) June 5, 2019

THIS SITUATION IS INTOLERABLE!



The Pharisees, from amongst the multitude, said to him: "Master, rebuke thy disciples".

To whom he said: "I say to you, that if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out."

Luke 19:40



Logos will Rise, like it or not.



#VoxAdpocalypse pic.twitter.com/M274VIC5D7 — E. Michael Jones ❌ (@EMichaelJones1) June 5, 2019

YouTube just banned 15 American Renaissance videos, including a few relatively benign ones. #YouTubePurge — Patrick Casey 🇺🇸 (@PatrickCaseyUSA) June 5, 2019

Hey @YouTube



Tell me how I violated your rules by simply discussing the ACTUAL LAWS that exist in Europe, and how I find them to be a human's right violation?



Now you can't even TALK about the laws that deny people their right to believe or disbelieve something lol. pic.twitter.com/rXcPnHqian — Angelo John Gage (@AngeloJohnGage) June 5, 2019

A video I did on the dangers of pornography was banned from YouTube. It was already in limited state for over six months. The state wants young men addicted to porn and not having families. — Bre Faucheux (@Bre_Faucheux) June 5, 2019

Our channel has been deemed as "hateful content" from @TeamYouTube. pic.twitter.com/JvxAH4e37L — Deep Fat Fried (@Deepfatfriedpod) June 5, 2019

My channel is among the THOUSANDS that YouTube just DEMONETIZED under its new policy. The policy states that you cannot even TALK about news anymore - even if everything you say is true. This the worst move that YouTube has ever made and the backlash with be brutal. @YouTube pic.twitter.com/Y4bc7p25mt — Jake Morphonios (@morphonios) June 6, 2019

Even more names from the #YouTubePurge;



Banned-



Mr Allsop History

Patrick Slattery



Demonetised-



Sandman

The Red Elephants

Know More News

Andy Warski

Deep Fat Fried Podcast



Videos Deleted-



E;R

American Renaissance

Ryan Dawson

E Michael Jones

The Higherside Chats

Bre Faucheux — 🅘🅝🅕🅘🅝🅘🅣🅨 🅔🅛🅔🅜🅔🅝🅣🅢 🇮🇪 (@InfElePro) June 6, 2019