YouTube Hate Speech Policy: Strikes, Bans and Appeals

A hate speech strike feels especially wrong when your video was about hatred – a history lesson, a news report, a takedown of an extremist’s claims. That happens more often than you might think, because automated systems see the words and images before they see your intent. This page explains YouTube’s hate speech policy as of October 2026, where the line between documenting and promoting runs, how warnings, strikes and bans work for this policy, and how to appeal a decision that got your context wrong. It does not help anyone defend content that actually targets people.

What does YouTube’s hate speech policy prohibit?

YouTube’s hate speech policy prohibits content that promotes violence or hatred against individuals or groups because of a protected attribute. As of October 2026, the attributes listed are: age; caste, ethnicity or race; disability; immigration status; nationality; religion; sex, gender or sexual orientation; veteran status; and victims of a major violent event and their families.

In paraphrase, the policy names these forms as not allowed:

• Encouraging violence against people because of a protected attribute, including implied calls for violence.
• Inciting hatred against them.
• Dehumanization – calling people subhuman or comparing them to animals, pests or disease.
• Praising or glorifying violence against them.
• Slurs and stereotypes used to promote hatred, in speech, text or imagery.
• Claims that a group is physically or mentally inferior, or calls for its subjugation.
• Hateful supremacism, including recruitment, fundraising and music promoting it.
• Conspiracy claims that a group is evil or corrupt because of who they are.
• Denying or minimizing a well-documented major violent event or its victims.

The policy applies to videos, descriptions, comments, live streams, posts and external links – including verbally directing viewers to other sites. It also covers video game content that was built or modded to promote hatred. One practical note if you read the policy page yourself: as of October 2026, it opens with a paragraph from the impersonation policy, apparently a publishing error. The hate speech text starts below it.

What counts as EDSA context for hate speech?

EDSA stands for educational, documentary, scientific or artistic – YouTube’s term for context that can justify showing content that would otherwise break a rule. For hate speech, context can mean condemning the material, refuting it, including opposing views, or clearly satirizing it. YouTube also makes public-interest exceptions, for example for parliamentary proceedings, campaign speeches or debates over government actions. YouTube’s own examples include a documentary about a hate group that does not support it, and historical footage of an event such as World War II that does not promote violence or hatred.

The detail that decides most cases is where the context sits. YouTube’s hate speech policy and its EDSA guidance both say that for hate speech, the context must appear in the images or audio of the video itself. A title or description is not enough, and comments, tags, pinned comments or the channel’s About section may not be considered at all.

Which channels get hate speech strikes by mistake?

History, news, commentary and satire channels are most exposed, because they have to show hateful material in order to explain or criticize it. The table shows typical triggers and what usually decides the outcome.

News and political channels face several policies at once; our guide to news and political channels covers misinformation and the other risks. If your channel was hit for content about extremist groups, the violent criminal organizations policy may be the one that applies.

Hate speech warning, strike or ban: what happens?

A first hate speech violation usually brings a warning, further violations bring strikes, and a channel dedicated to hate speech can be terminated at once. In detail, as of October 2026:

• Warning. Usually without other penalties. YouTube offers optional policy training with many warnings – introduced on August 29, 2023 – and the warning then expires 90 days after you complete the training. If you break the same policy within those 90 days, the warning may not expire and a strike can follow. The details are on our warnings and policy training page.
• Strikes. A first strike blocks uploads and other features for one week, a second within 90 days for two weeks, and three strikes within 90 days may lead to termination. Each strike expires 90 days after it was issued.
• Immediate termination. YouTube’s termination rules name hate speech as an example of a channel dedicated to a policy violation, which can be terminated without the ladder.

The policy also allows penalties beyond single videos – including on monetization – when a creator repeatedly targets a group across uploads, repeatedly encourages abusive audience behavior, or persistently incites hostility against a protected group for financial gain. According to Google’s Transparency Report, YouTube removed 24,603 channels in the hateful or abusive category in Q2 2026; since Q2 2025, each channel is counted only once.

Ad suitability is a separate system: YouTube’s October 2026 changelog says certain public-interest content, such as congressional hearings, can now earn ads under its “Hateful and Derogatory” advertiser guidelines. That affects revenue, not strikes.

How do I appeal a hate speech strike or termination?

Appeal by pointing the reviewer to the exact moments in your video where you frame, condemn or refute the material. A human reviews appeals case by case, and you want that person to find your context in seconds.

1. Find the flagged contentA strike names the video; a termination email usually names only the policy. For terminations, list the uploads most likely to be read as hate speech.
2. Note your context with timestampsWhere does your narration introduce the material? Where do you condemn or correct it? Which sources do you show? Write down the timestamps.
3. Write a short, factual appealName the video, state its purpose, give two or three timestamps with what you say there, and request a review. If the context was only in the description, say so honestly and explain how you would re-edit.
4. Mind the deadlinesWarnings and strikes: appeal within 6 months, and each strike only once – our strike appeal guide shows the steps in Studio. Terminations: up to one year, and as of October 2026 two appeals within that year with a further limit per termination. Use the appeal checker before you send.
5. Know the possible outcomesFor strikes, YouTube can restore the video, keep the strike, or replace removal with an age restriction. There is no extra penalty for an unsuccessful appeal.

Video: [title] – [video URL], removed on [date] under the hate speech policy.

This is a [history / news / documentary] video about [topic]. It shows [the speech / the propaganda / the clip] in order to explain and condemn it, not to promote it.

The context is in the video itself:
– [0:45] My narration introduces the material as [e.g. Nazi propaganda from 1938] and explains why we show it.
– [3:10] On-screen text and narration refute the claims made in the clip, citing [source].
– [7:55] The closing section summarizes the consequences for the people targeted.

Please review the video with this context. If you think it is not suitable for all audiences, an age restriction would be appropriate instead of removal.

If you want this structure for every situation – strike or termination, short form version and long escalation version – the Appeal Kit (€87, one-time) includes reason-specific templates and the 12 mistakes that get appeals rejected. No password needed, 30-day no-questions refund: see the Appeal Kit.

When is a hate speech appeal realistic – and when not?

An appeal is realistic when your video clearly documents, criticizes or satirizes hate and you can show where it does so; it is not realistic when the content itself attacks people for who they are.

• History or documentary videos with narration that frames the material.
• News reports quoting hateful statements in order to report on them.
• Commentary that refutes a hateful creator, with your critique taking up most of the video.
• Clearly signposted satire aimed at the hatred, not at the group.

• Content that dehumanizes, insults or calls for exclusion of a protected group.
• Denial or minimization of well-documented violent events.
• Supremacist content, even with a “just asking questions” framing.
• Channels that repeatedly target a group across many uploads.

We don’t help anyone appeal content on the second list. For decisions on the first list that are upheld, EU residents can use further routes under the Digital Services Act, and the rejected-appeal guide sets out what remains by country.

What not to do after a hate speech strike

• Don’t re-upload the video with a new title – the context problem is inside the video.
• Don’t delete the video before appealing; deleting doesn’t remove the strike and ends your appeal option.
• Don’t argue “free speech” – YouTube is a private platform, and US courts have consistently rejected that argument against it.
• Don’t repeat the flagged statement in a reaction video about your strike.
• Don’t move uploads to a second channel while restricted; that is circumvention.

How do history and news channels prevent hate speech strikes?

They prevent strikes by building context into the edit, not the metadata. A checklist for every sensitive upload:

• Introduce hateful material in your narration before it plays, and say why you show it.
• Add on-screen text with date, source and a clear framing line.
• Keep clips as short as your point requires; return to your commentary quickly.
• Keep slurs and hateful symbols out of thumbnails and titles.
• Mute or blur slurs that are not essential to the point.
• Hold potentially hateful comments for review; the policy covers comments too.
• Keep scripts and source lists – they are your best appeal evidence.

Frequently asked questions