Official Blog
Broadcast Yourself
Introducing a new way to share YouTube videos
Monday, August 7, 2017
Remember the first time you heard the opening beats of “
Despacito
”? Your ears perked up, your foot unconsciously tapping beneath the table. Like every “Despacito” loving person before you,
you can’t help but dance
, and when you'd finally caught your breath, you had to share it with all your friends. It would be wrong to keep something
this good
to yourself. And that means you had to copy and paste a link into an email, social or messaging app to share that moment.
But like chats around the water cooler, shouldn't sharing a video be as easy as saying, “Have you heard this new song?” We’ve been experimenting with a better way to share videos on YouTube since last year. Thanks to all your feedback, we made some improvements and are now ready to roll out this new sharing feature to all users globally.
Starting today, you can share videos with your friends and family directly on YouTube. Not only can you share and receive videos in the app, you can also chat about them right on YouTube, reply with another video, invite others to the conversation, and more. We think it’ll make sharing easier, faster and more fun on your phone. And if you want to continue sharing videos through other apps, you can still do that too.
These shared videos all live in a brand new tab on your YouTube mobile app, making it easier than ever to catch up on videos your friends have shared or to show them a few of your own favorites.
Start a group, share your favorite “Despacito” version and make a friend dance!
Benoît de Boursetty, Product Manager, recently shared “
A new way to share on YouTube
.”
An update on our commitment to fight terror content online
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
A little over a month ago, we told you about the
four new steps
we’re taking to combat terrorist content on YouTube: better detection and faster removal driven by machine learning, more experts to alert us to content that needs review, tougher standards for videos that are controversial but do not violate
our policies
, and more work in the counter-terrorism space.
We wanted to give you an update on these commitments:
Better detection and faster removal driven by machine learning
: We’ve always used a mix of technology and human review to address the ever-changing challenges around controversial content on YouTube. We recently began developing and implementing cutting-edge machine learning technology designed to help us identify and remove violent extremism and terrorism-related content in a scalable way. We have started rolling out these tools and we are already seeing some positive progress:
Speed and efficiency
: Our machine learning systems are faster and more effective than ever before. Over 75 percent of the videos we've removed for violent extremism over the past month were taken down before receiving a single human flag.
Accuracy
: The accuracy of our systems has improved dramatically due to our machine learning technology. While these tools aren’t perfect, and aren’t right for every setting, in many cases our systems have proven more accurate than humans at flagging videos that need to be removed.
Scale
: With over 400 hours of content uploaded to YouTube every minute, finding and taking action on violent extremist content poses a significant challenge. But over the past month, our initial use of machine learning has more than doubled both the number of videos we've removed for violent extremism, as well as the rate at which we’ve taken this kind of content down.
We are encouraged by these improvements, and will continue to develop our technology in order to make even more progress. We are also hiring more people to help review and enforce our policies, and will continue to invest in technical resources to keep pace with these issues and address them responsibly.
More experts
: Of course, our systems are only as good as the the data they’re based on. Over the past weeks, we have begun working with more than 15 additional expert NGOs and institutions through our Trusted Flagger program, including the Anti-Defamation League, the No Hate Speech Movement, and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. These organizations bring expert knowledge of complex issues like hate speech, radicalization, and terrorism that will help us better identify content that is being used to radicalize and recruit extremists. We will also regularly consult these experts as we update our policies to reflect new trends. And we’ll continue to add more organizations to our network of advisors over time.
Tougher standards
: We’ll soon be applying tougher treatment to videos that aren’t illegal but have been flagged by users as potential violations of our policies on hate speech and violent extremism. If we find that these videos don’t violate our policies but contain controversial religious or supremacist content, they will be placed in a limited state. The videos will remain on YouTube behind an interstitial, won’t be recommended, won’t be monetized, and won’t have key features including comments, suggested videos, and likes. We’ll begin to roll this new treatment out to videos on desktop versions of YouTube in the coming weeks, and will bring it to mobile experiences soon thereafter. These new approaches entail significant new internal tools and processes, and will take time to fully implement.
Early intervention and expanding counter-extremism work
: We’ve started
rolling out features from Jigsaw’s Redirect Method
to YouTube. When people search for sensitive keywords on YouTube, they will be redirected towards a playlist of curated YouTube videos that directly confront and debunk violent extremist messages. We also continue to amplify YouTube voices speaking out against hate and radicalization through our
YouTube Creators for Change
program. Just last week, the U.K. chapter of Creators for Change,
Internet Citizens
, hosted a two-day workshop for 13-18 year-olds to help them find a positive sense of belonging online and learn skills on how to participate safely and responsibly on the internet. We also
pledged
to expand the program’s reach to 20,000 more teens across the U.K.
And over the weekend, we hosted our latest Creators for Change workshop in Bandung, Indonesia, where creators teamed up with Indonesia’s Maarif Institute to teach young people about the importance of diversity, pluralism, and tolerance.
Altogether, we have taken significant steps over the last month in our fight against online terrorism. But this is not the end. We know there is always more work to be done. With the help of new machine learning technology, deep partnerships, ongoing
collaborations
with other companies through the Global Internet Forum, and our vigilant community we are confident we can continue to make progress against this ever-changing threat. We look forward to sharing more with you in the months ahead.
The YouTube Team
Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism to hold first meeting in San Francisco
Monday, July 31, 2017
The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism is holding its first workshop on August 1, 2017, in San Francisco, where representatives from the tech industry, government, and non-governmental organizations are coming together to share information and best practices about how to counter the threat of terrorist content online.
Formed last month
by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and YouTube, the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism formalizes and structures how our companies work together to curtail the spread of terrorism and violent extremism on our hosted consumer services. Building on the work started within the EU Internet Forum and the
shared industry hash database
, the GIFCT is fostering collaboration with smaller tech companies, civil society groups and academics, and governments.
In addition to the founding companies of the GIFCT, more than two dozen other technology companies and NGOs will be participating in Tuesday's meeting. We also welcome United Kingdom Home Secretary Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP and United States Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke — as well as representatives from Australia, Canada, the European Union, and the United Nations — to discuss mutual areas of cooperation.
At Tuesday's meeting we will be formalizing our goals for collaboration and identifying with smaller companies specific areas of support needed as part of the the GIFCT's workplan. Our mission is to substantially disrupt terrorists' ability to use the Internet in furthering their causes, while also respecting human rights. This disruption includes addressing the promotion of terrorism, dissemination of propaganda, and the exploitation of real-world terrorist events through online platforms. To achieve this, we will join forces around three strategies:
Employing and leveraging technology
Sharing knowledge, information and best practices, and
Conducting and funding research.
In the next several months, we also aim to achieve the following:
Secure the participation of five additional companies to the industry hash-sharing database for violent terrorist imagery; two of which have already joined: Snap Inc. and Justpaste.it
Reach 50 companies to share best practices on how to counter terrorism online through the
Tech Against Terrorism
project in partnership with ICT4Peace and the U.N. Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate
Conduct four knowledge-sharing workshops — starting in San Francisco Tuesday, with plans for further meetings later this year in other locations around the world
We believe that the best approach to tackling online terrorism is to collaborate with each other and with others outside the private sector, including civil society and government. We look forward to further cooperation as we develop a joint strategic plan over time.
Bringing new Redirect Method features to YouTube
Thursday, July 20, 2017
A month ago, we told you about
four new steps
we’re taking to combat terrorist content on YouTube. One of our core areas of focus is more work to counter online violent extremism. As a first step we’re now rolling out features from Jigsaw’s Redirect Method on YouTube.
Over the past years,
Jigsaw
partnered with
Moonshot CVE
to conduct extensive research to understand how extremist groups leverage technology to spread their message and recruit new members. From there, they created the
Redirect Method
, which uses curated video content to redirect people away from violent extremist propaganda and steer them toward video content that confronts extremist messages and debunks its mythology. Today, YouTube is rolling out a feature using the model proven by the Redirect Method: when people search for certain keywords on YouTube, we will display a playlist of videos debunking violent extremist recruiting narratives.
This early product integration of the Redirect Method on YouTube is our latest effort to provide more resources and more content that can help change minds of people at risk of being radicalized. Over the coming weeks, we hope to build on this by:
Expanding the new YouTube product functionality to a wider set of search queries in other languages beyond English.
Using machine learning to dynamically update the search query terms.
Working with expert NGOs on developing new video content designed to counter violent extremist messaging at different parts of the radicalization funnel.
Collaborating with Jigsaw to expand the “Redirect Method” in Europe.
This work is made possible by our partnerships with NGOs that are experts in this field, and we will continue to collaborate closely with them to help support their research through our technological tools. We hope our work together will also help open and broaden a dialogue about other work that can be done to counter radicalization of potential recruits.
As we develop this model of the Redirect Method on YouTube, we’ll measure success by how much this content is engaged. Stay tuned for more.
The YouTube Team
YouTube spotlight on “Country Foods”
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Everyday young professionals in India move out of their small towns to the big cities in search of their dream jobs and to earn a steady income. Srinath and Laxman did the same and they were employed by a well established media company, earning a good income to take care of their families back home.
They lived together in a small rented apartment and cooked on their own. They made their traditional recipes but frequently used YouTube to try out new cuisines. They were awestruck to see the millions of views for recipe videos on YouTube. With a background in post production, they decided to explore the opportunity for themselves and in August 2016 launched a traditional Indian recipes channel on YouTube.
Despite concerns from their families, they quit their jobs and decided to pursue this as a full-time career. When they partnered with Laxman’s 106-year-old grandmother - Mastanamma - their channel skyrocketed. Her delicious traditional recipes have received audience attention all around the world. We spoke with Srinath about their passion for food, the power of YouTube, and what lies ahead:
How did your family and friends react when you told them about your plans to quit your job and start a YouTube channel?
When I first told my wife about my plans to quit my job to start a YouTube channel, she was not very happy. At the time, I had a good job and a decent salary - we also have kids so she was not supportive of my decision and didn’t understand why I wanted to do this. But both Laxman and I were convinced that we wanted to do this - so we quit our jobs and started the channel and became YouTube creators.
What were your expectations?
We were blessed that our channel started doing well pretty quickly and we started making a similar amount of money as we were in our past jobs. This gave my family some confidence in what I was doing. But after four months, we realized that we needed to do something different to sustain our growth.
At any point did you think that this may not work?
We were visiting Laxman’s village called Gudiwada and since it’s a small village, everybody was aware of our YouTube channel. They were all very happy for us but they had no idea that we were looking for new ideas to build on our start.
That’s when Laxman’s mother suggested that we should try the recipes of Laxman’s grandmother, Mastanamma, because she makes really authentic and delicious dishes. At first we didn’t think much of it but we decided to try her food. Her food was amazing and it was not like anything we had tried before so we decided to record a few videos with her.
Our first video with her was a hit and received 3 million views. We uploaded another video titled “
Watermelon Chicken by My Granny
” and that went viral! We couldn’t believe that this recipe video hit over 8 million views. There truly is magic in her recipes and the food she makes, and that magic is now available on YouTube for everyone to enjoy. She is 106 years old and still enjoys cooking herself and for everyone. Because of YouTube, she’s able to share that passion on a global scale.
What does Mastanamma think about having her own food channel that is now popular all over the world?
Having a YouTube channel has given her new experiences that none of us ever thought were possible. She was even recently interviewed by the BBC! She doesn’t completely realize what she has created but it’s something that is connecting people all around the world. We now visit her once a month and shoot new videos for two or three days of the newest recipes she wants to share on YouTube.
Have you thought about what you want to do next?
We never expected to come this far but we’re delighted that we took a chance and our families are now very happy and supportive of our work. Our income has also gone up tremendously and our viewership comes from all over the world. We want to build on this success and are already working on a new animation channel for kids and families. We’re excited to create something unique in that space as well.
What advice does Mastanamma have for her viewers?
She says that there is no better food than the food you make yourself. Everyone should learn to cook because it’s healthier and brings people together.
#ProudToBe standing with LGBTQ+ and Creators for Change
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Happy Pride everyone! The LGBTQ+ community has been a vital part of YouTube for a long time, and as our CEO, Susan Wojcicki, stated
last week
, we want to continue supporting creators around the world who are championing the right to be themselves, love who they love, and share that experience proudly with people all across the globe.
We see firsthand how creators can be tremendous forces for good and for change. That’s why we want to shine a light on the inspirational LGBTQ+ community on YouTube who do this every day by highlighting some of their voices through our Creators for Change program. Today,
YouTube Creators for Change
is proud to launch #ProudToBe, our fifth annual Pride campaign.
The videos from this community are as varied and exceptional as the group of people making them: they’re encouraging, challenging, honest, fiery, tender, celebratory, funny, and totally badass. Thanks to these voices, people around the world can turn to YouTube to find a connection when they need it -- especially if they live in a place where they don’t have the freedom to be themselves.
With that in mind, this year we hope people around the world will join us in celebrating these all-important everyday acts of bravery and courage – some public, some personal – that make the world better for LGBTQ+ people. If you want to be a part of our #ProudToBe campaign, simply share a video or post about the first time you decided to express yourself in a way that felt truly authentic, despite what anyone said or thought.
Whatever it was, we’re here to help share your story. Because this year we’re celebrating those moments (big and small) that unlock the Pride you feel, inspire Pride in others, and show the world what makes you #ProudToBe.
Marly Ellis, Head of YouTube Brand, recently watched “
A Matter of Life or Death: LGBTQ+ Refugees | Chosen Family | Part 5
.”
Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube Announce Formation of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism
Monday, June 26, 2017
Today, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube are announcing the formation of the
Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism
, which will help us continue to make our hosted consumer services hostile to terrorists and violent extremists.
The spread of terrorism and violent extremism is a pressing global problem and a critical challenge for us all. We take these issues very seriously, and each of our companies have developed policies and removal practices that enable us to take a hard line against terrorist or violent extremist content on our hosted consumer services. We believe that by working together, sharing the best technological and operational elements of our individual efforts, we can have a greater impact on the threat of terrorist content online.
The new forum builds on initiatives including the
EU Internet Forum
and the
Shared Industry Hash Database
; discussions with the U.K. and other governments; and the conclusions of the recent
G7
and
European Council
meetings. It will formalize and structure existing and future areas of collaboration between our companies and foster cooperation with smaller tech companies, civil society groups and academics, governments and supra-national bodies such as the EU and the U.N.
The scope of our work will evolve over time as we will need to be responsive to the ever-evolving terrorist and extremist tactics. Initially, however, our work will focus on:
Technological solutions:
Our companies will work together to refine and improve existing joint technical work, such as the Shared Industry Hash Database; exchange best practices as we develop and implement new content detection and classification techniques using machine learning; and define standard transparency reporting methods for terrorist content removals.
Research:
We will commission research to inform our counter-speech efforts and guide future technical and policy decisions around the removal of terrorist content.
Knowledge-sharing:
We will work with counter-terrorism experts including governments, civil society groups, academics and other companies to engage in shared learning about terrorism. And through a joint partnership with the U.N. Security Council Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (U.N. CTED) and the ICT4Peace Initiative, we are establishing a broad knowledge-sharing network to:
Engage with smaller companies:
We will help them develop the technology and processes necessary to tackle terrorist and extremist content online.
Develop best practices:
We already partner with organizations such as the
Center for Strategic and International Studies
,
Anti-Defamation League
a
n
d
Global Network Initiative
to identify how best to counter extremism and online hate, while respecting freedom of expression and privacy.
We can socialize these best practices, and develop additional shared learnings on topics such as community guideline development, and policy enforcement.
Counterspeech
: Each of us already has robust counterspeech initiatives in place (e.g., YouTube’s
Creators for Change
, Jigsaw’s
Redirect Method
, Facebook’s P2P and OCCI, Microsoft’s partnership with the
Institute for Strategic Dialogue for counter-narratives on Bing
, Twitter’s global NGO training program). The forum we have established allows us to learn from and contribute to one another’s counterspeech efforts, and discuss how to further empower and train civil society organizations and individuals who may be engaged in similar work and support ongoing efforts such as the Civil society empowerment project (CSEP).
We will be hosting a series of learning workshops in partnership with U.N. CTED/ICT4Peace in Silicon Valley and around the world to drive these areas of collaboration.
Further information on all of the above initiatives will be shared in due course.
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