YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BUSINESS OF INFLUENCER MARKETING

News

YouTube unverifies creator accounts, but reverses changes after less than a day

YouTube unverifies creator accounts, but reverses changes after less than a day

YouTube has quickly u-turned on a move that saw large handfuls of its creators have their channels and accounts unverified. 

On the 19th September, the video giant announced that it would be altering its verification criteria. As a result, many large YouTubers immediately lost their official verification.

In an email sent to creators, the platform stated that it would now be "proactively verifying channels instead of accepting requests for verification badges".

The new criteria stipulated that channels should only be verified if it has built a large audience and community on YouTube, and are widely recognised outside of the platform also. Individual users were contacted regarding the change. YouTube even managed to un-verify its own channel with the new system.

Doing a You-Turn

After less than 24 hours, YouTube reversed the changes and restored verification to the channels affected.

"First, we heard loud and clear how much the badge means to you. Channels that already have the verification badge will now keep it and don’t have to appeal," the platform wrote in a blog post.

"Just like in the past, all channels that have over 100,000 subscribers will still be eligible to apply. We’ll reopen the application process by the end of October. Going forward, we’ll review those channels to verify their identity."

 YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki also apologised for the move, saying that the company "missed the mark" while making improvements to the verification system.


Editor

Danielle Partis is editor of PocketGamer.biz and former editor of InfluencerUpdate.biz. She was named Journalist of the Year at the MCV Women in Games Awards 2019, as well as in the MCV 30 under 30 2020. Prior to Steel Media, she wrote about music and games at Team Rock.