This week, millions of people across the globe will celebrate Passover and Easter. And in the coming weeks, millions will begin to observe Ramadan. This year, these important religious holidays will feel very different, as faith organizations all over the world look for new ways to celebrate safely in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 within their communities.
During these difficult times, it’s important for us to continue to connect with each other and feel part of our wider communities, even from home.
While some faith organizations have used digital tools to connect with their congregations for many years, this year’s broadly mandated orders to stay home will make it essential for churches, synagogues, mosques, families and individuals to find new ways of coming together, online.
The shift has already begun. Since the start of March, the combined subscribers of all Vatican News channels has more than doubled.
To assist faith organizations everywhere who are new to online services, YouTube has brought together helpful information to get started with live streaming. Please visit our Playlist and Help Center for best practices, or check out instructions for hosting a live stream event either from a mobile device or desktop.
For those who are observing Passover this week, synagogues are offering many ways to share and celebrate online. Park Avenue Synagogue, in New York City, is live streaming Seders and festival services throughout the week, starting with a one hour Seder on Wednesday, April 8 at 6 p.m. ET.
We also invite you to celebrate with a special Saturday Night Seder, premiering exclusively on YouTube via Tasty and SaturdayNightSeder on Saturday, April 11 at 8 p.m. ET. This Passover-themed variety show will raise funds for the CDC Foundation, and includes comedy sketches, heartfelt moments and music, with an impressive list of participants including Jason Alexander, Ben Platt, Idina Menzel, Dan Levy, Henry Winkler, Tan France and Senator Chuck Schumer, among many others.
For those celebrating Good Friday and Easter, many churches are hosting live streams for their local congregations, so please check in with your church. The Vatican will live stream all of its Holy Week services from St. Peter’s Basilica, including Easter Sunday mass at 11 a.m. CET.
Renowned opera singer Andrea Bocelli will perform live at 7 p.m. CET on Sunday, April 12 from Milan’s historic Duomo Cathedral, available exclusively on YouTube. The concert entitled, “Music For Hope,” will represent a message of love, healing and hope to Italy and the world. The Duomo, currently closed, will open its doors exceptionally for Andrea Bocelli who will be accompanied only by the cathedral organist, Emanuele Vianelli, playing one of world’s largest pipe organs. The “Music For Hope” trailer can be seen here.
We’ll have more to share in the next few weeks about upcoming Ramadan celebrations.
We wish safe and healthy holidays for faith communities across the world.
As more and more families find themselves at home, we know people are learning how to adjust to this situation. Beyond helping people find authoritative sources of news and information, we also want to be a helpful learning resource to families across the globe.
We’re fortunate to have an incredible community of learning creators on YouTube. From CrashCourse to Physics Girl, the EduTuber community has been helping people around the world learn and keep up with their studies. We wanted to take a moment to provide an update around how we’re supporting their efforts.
Learn@Home
Starting today, we’re launching Learn@Home, a website with learning resources and content for families. From Khan Academy to Sesame Street to code.org, Learn@Home will spotlight content across math, science, history and arts from popular learning channels. We’ll also have a dedicated section for families with kids under 13, where parents and kids can watch videos together that encourage kids' creativity, curiosity, playfulness and offline activities, such as how to build a model volcano. The website is launching today in English and will continue to evolve. We’re working to expand to more languages in the coming days, such as Italian, French, Korean, Spanish, Japanese and more.
As people #StayHome to work and study, it can feel like an isolating time. We’ve been inspired by the #StudyWithMe movement, where students share their study experiences with each other online. Whether reading or listening to music, it helps to feel less alone when you study together.
YouTube Kids
YouTube Kids provides kids under 13 with a safer environment where they can explore their interests and curiosity on their own while giving parents the tools to customize the experience. The app features a range of timely content, such as healthy habits, indoor fun and learning.
We understand this is an unprecedented situation facing families across the globe. We’re humbled by the incredible EduTuber community that’s sharing knowledge with the world, and we hope you find these resources helpful in these challenging times.
Malik Ducard, VP of Content Partnerships, Learning, Social Impact, Family, Film & TV
Today, as the unprecedented COVID-19 situation continues, Google outlined how it’s reducing the need for people to come into its offices while ensuring that its products continue to operate for everyone. We are committed to keeping the YouTube community informed about our actions related to COVID-19 in a dedicated location in our help center. Here is our update from last week; below is some more information about the reduction of in-office staffing as it relates to YouTube:
We have teams at YouTube, as well as partner companies, that help us support and protect the YouTube community—from people who respond to user and creator questions, to reviewers who evaluate videos for possible policy violations. These teams and companies are staffed by thousands of people dedicated to helping users and creators. As the coronavirus response evolves, we are taking the steps needed to prioritize the well-being of our employees, our extended workforce, and the communities where they live, including reducing in-officestaffing in certain sites.
Our Community Guidelines enforcement today is based on a combination of people and technology: Machine learning helps detect potentially harmful content and then sends it to human reviewers for assessment. As a result of the new measures we’re taking, we will temporarily start relying more on technology to help with some of the work normally done by reviewers. This means automated systems will start removing some content without human review, so we can continue to act quickly to remove violative content and protect our ecosystem, while we have workplace protections in place.
As we do this, users and creators may see increased video removals, including some videos that may not violate policies. We won’t issue strikes on this content except in cases where we have high confidence that it’s violative. If creators think that their content was removed in error, they can appeal the decision and our teams will take a look. However, note that our workforce precautions will also result in delayed appeal reviews. We’ll also be more cautious about what content gets promoted, including livestreams. In some cases, unreviewed content may not be available via search, on the homepage, or in recommendations.
All eligible creators will still be able to monetize videos and this does not change the updates on monetization of coronavirus-related videos we shared last week. And we’ll continue to enforce our policies regarding coronavirus content, including removing videos that discourage people from seeking medical treatment or claim harmful substances have health benefits.
The situation with coronavirus continues to change day by day, and we’ll continue to take the steps needed to protect our teams and the communities where they live. This may affect additional types of YouTube user and creator support and reviews, such as applications for the YouTube partner program or responses on social media. To stay up-to-date on any changes in our services—and our broader response to the coronavirus—continue to check the help center.
We recognize this may be a disruption for users and creators, but know this is the right thing to do for the people who work to keep YouTube safe and for the broader community. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we take these steps during this challenging time.
Over the past several weeks, as we’ve all seen the growing crisis around the coronavirus, we at YouTube have been thinking about how these developments might affect you. We often say that you’re the heart of YouTube, and during this difficult time we wanted to share how we’re working to help and support you.
Keeping our community informed
There’s a lot of uncertainty right now, and we understand the importance of helping people find authoritative sources of news and information. We're using our homepage to direct users to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other local authoritative organizations around the world to ensure users can easily find updates. We're also donating advertising inventory to governments and NGOs in impacted regions, who are using it to spotlight timely, helpful information.
It remains our top priority to provide information to users in a responsible way. From the very beginning of this outbreak, we’ve worked to prevent misinformation associated with the spread of the virus. We’re also raising up authoritative sources in search and recommendations and showing information panels on relevant videos. YouTube will continue to quickly remove videos that violate our policies when they are flagged, including those that discourage people from seeking medical treatment or claim harmful substances have health benefits. Finding trustworthy content is especially critical as news is breaking, and we’ll continue to make sure YouTube delivers accurate information for our users.
Partnering to help others
The situation is evolving every day, and we're committed to providing you updates along the way, including any changes that may impact our processes and support systems. Check in here to find the latest resources from YouTube.
People around the world come to YouTube for information, but they’re also looking for something more: to find relief and connect as a community. Creators and artists bring us together, offering entertainment and solace through conversations that help us feel less alone. We’re working to help make those connections possible by meeting the increased demand for live streaming as university events, conferences, and religious services move their gatherings online.
Supporting creators: updates to monetization for coronavirus-related content
YouTube’s policies are designed to support your work on the platform, to protect users, and to give advertisers confidence about where their ads run. We know many of you have had questions about our sensitive events policy, which currently does not allow monetization if a video includes more than a passing mention of the coronavirus. Our sensitive events policy was designed to apply to short-term events of significant magnitude, like a natural disaster. It’s becoming clear this issue is now an ongoing and important part of everyday conversation, and we want to make sure news organizations and creators can continue producing quality videos in a sustainable way. In the days ahead, we will enable ads for content discussing the coronavirus on a limited number of channels, including creators who accurately self-certify and a range of news partners. We’re preparing our policies and enforcement processes to expand monetization to more creators and news organizations in the coming weeks.
The power of community
YouTube creators have shown time and again the difference it makes when we come together. We appreciate everything you do to create positive communities that allow people to turn to each other in times of need. Let’s continue to support each other as we navigate these challenging times.
Every time International Women’s Day rolls around, it’s an opportunity to reflect on all the women who push YouTube to be even better. They make this community the best that it can be.
Here are nine women, from around the globe, who inspire us with their creative and entrepreneurial spirit. They’re teachers, leaders and artists. They’re often in traditionally male-driven communities, breaking glass ceilings, everywhere they go. We’re proud to feature some of their answers to our Q&A, and we’re so, so lucky to call them YouTubers.
Rachana is a chartered accountant, faculty member at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, trained in Indian classical music, a mom, and is at the helm of a 400K+ strong YouTube channel, where she educates her viewers on finance, business, and markets. Her channel team has grown from two people to five, including researchers and a video producer.
A NextUp Women to Watch winner in India, she's passionate about equipping women to be financially independent. She’s one of the few creators in a traditionally male-driven arena of financial education in India.
YT: What are you most proud of from your work on YouTube? Rachana: “I feel proud of the fact that my most viewed lecture on Youtube which has crossed 2.4 million views is a 1.5 hours lecture! Encouraging people to click on such a long lecture and keeping them glued to it for a substantial time makes me feel really good.
I also feel proud that people from the Indian Navy, Indian Airforce and Indian Army also watch my lectures. I have received many comments from them on many of my videos! So, I feel proud of the fact that I am able to serve those who serve our nation!”
Emma Jakobi is an English teacher from Australia and is also the brain behind mmmEnglish, one of Australia’s top learning channels. Emma created mmmEnglish to help her students learn while she wasn’t teaching. The channel took off quickly, and Emma saw the opportunity to build a business helping people learn English, using YouTube to reach an engaged global audience.
YT: What are you most proud of from your work on YouTube?
Emma: “YouTube has been the catalyst that has taken my career and my life in a new direction - one that I couldn’t have imagined 5 years ago! In particular, it has allowed me to create a second business that I am completely in love with, The Ladies’ Project, a community for international women learning English as a second language. It takes away the pain of finding genuine speaking partners to practise with online, while empowering women to build confidence in themselves (their English conversation skills!) and create opportunities to thrive.”
Refika is a Turkish food writer, TV presenter and YouTube sensation. Her mission is to teach cooking to an audience of all ages and promote Turkish cuisine while also having fun. In the course of a year, she’s become the largest cooking channel in Turkey with a diverse audience across generations.
She now has a large team of 35 supporting her on production, sales and merchandise. She recently more than doubled the staff to handle the launch of her physical merch store and her globalization efforts via her English channel. Refika says YouTube has helped her both financially and emotionally, allowing her to grow her business and pursue her dreams.
YT: How do you balance between being a creator and a businesswoman?
Refika: “It’s definitely not easy finding the balance. As a creator and business person, I am the product, I am the creative who keeps the product shiny and interesting, and I’m the operations person managing everything from top to bottom. I always have this feeling that there’s never enough time, and this weighs on me. I always have this heavy feeling of guilt, never feeling enough, but at the end of the day, I do my best!”
Nikkie de Jager, better known by her YouTube channel name NikkieTutorials, is a Dutch makeup artist and beauty vlogger. Nikkie first began uploading videos in 2008 at the age of 14, after watching MTV’s “The Hills.” Now, she’s an emerging media brand with brand collaborations ranging from Ofra and Maybelline. Nikkie has also worked with Lady Gaga, promoting her makeup brand, Haus Laboratories. Earlier this year, it was announced she’ll be the online host of Eurovision.
YT: How do you balance between being a creator and a businesswoman?
Nikkie: “In the beginning you need to learn what a ‘business person’ is because you are the brand and sometimes it might feel weird to talk about your own work, etc., but you get used to it. I now know I am my channel and my channel is my brand.
Also, I’ve been very fortunate to have help from very good, trustworthy people who help me on the business side so I can focus on creativity.”
YT: What is one important lesson learned from being a YouTube boss?
Nikkie: “Don't get comfortable. As a platform,YouTube continues to evolve, so stay flexible and don't take any opportunity for granted.”
This country-side Brit manages two channels — she vlogs about her daily life on one (Lucy Bella Earl), while teaching folks the queen’s English on the other. Lucy currently has over 3 million subscribers.
YT: What is one important lesson learned from being a YouTube boss?
Lucy: “No matter how hard you try, you're not going to be everyone's cup of tea. I was brought up to be a people pleaser, and it's taken a long time for me to accept that some people aren't going to like me and that is totally fine! In fact, sometimes, it can work in your favor.”
Mindy McKnight owns and operates the #1 hair channel on YouTube, Cute Girls Hairstyles. Mindy’s hairstyle tutorials began as a hobby, but have since led to a family social media empire, including over 23 million followers across all social platforms, six successful YouTube channels totaling over 2 billion views worldwide, and several highly successful off-platform businesses, such as the haircare brand, Hairitage, which is currently sold in Walmarts nationwide.
YT: What is one important lesson learned from being a YouTube boss?
Mindy: “One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from being a YouTube boss is that your career doesn’t have to be ancillary to your family. There’s a way to build a career around the things you’re most passionate about, and for me that was family and hair. That was the magic recipe for us, and I love that we didn’t have to choose one or the other.”
Sabrina is known for her Roblox game content, from music videos and game development to being one of the producers of the first ever Roblox Influencer Championship event. She’s grown to nearly 1 million subscribers.
YT: What is one important lesson learned from being a YouTube boss?
Sabrina: “It takes a lot of trial and error to find a middle ground between what you want to do and what the community wants to see. When you find it, it's extremely rewarding because both you and your viewers are happy and that's sustainable.”
Nathalia Arcuri quit her job as a journalist to start Me poupe!, the country’s first platform dedicated to financial education and women’s empowerment. She now has the largest financial entertainment channel in the world and is considered one of the most influential women in Brazil.
YT: What are you most proud of from your work on YouTube?
Nathalia: “I am proud to have created a new vertical of content within YouTube, which is entertainment applied to education. It is knowing that I was able to open a door to other financial channels, which today makes the subject have much more impact in the lives of many many people. …. We are talking to a huge number of Brazilians who have never had access to financial education. And the moment Me Poupe! democratized access through a simpler and more fun language, and people started to understand that it is possible to talk about a subject that is so tense, that it is so hard in a light way, it broke several barriers and made that subject, that it is so important for people to be freer and make better decisions with money, not be so hostage to debt and have this financial education. So what I'm most proud of is being at the forefront of this segment on YouTube.”
Singer/songwriter/dancer Tate McRae released her debut EP “all the things i never said” in January, featuring her hit song “stupid.” Tate is set to kick off her “All The Things I Never Said Pt. II” tour on April 1.
YT: How do you balance between being an artist and a businesswoman?
Tate: “I’m the type of person that works best under pressure. I love keeping myself busy and working at all points of the day, otherwise I can drive myself crazy. Having to maintain a heavy workload just motivates me to continue to push through and be the best version of myself.”
YT: What is one important lesson learned from being a YouTube boss?
Tate: “Always stay authentic. Stay true to your roots and (as cliche as it sounds) be yourself. I feel like it’s so obvious when a person/artist puts on a false persona of themselves – it can be read so easily through the screen.”
15 years ago today, YouTube took a small step toward starting something big. On February 14, 2005, YouTube was registered as a website. Its founders wanted to create a way for people around the world to share videos. Soon after, the first video —“Me at the zoo”— was uploaded, and before the end of the year, the site was receiving millions of views a day.
Just miles away at Google’s headquarters, I had begun working with colleagues to see how people would use online video. Much to our surprise, users all over the world wanted to upload their videos to share their stories. But what surprised me even more was that so many others wanted to watch these videos about everyday life: funny dances, kids making cute unexpected comments, and, of course, lots of cat videos. These videos entertained us, but they also showed there was something very human about connecting through online video. While traditional media often showed polished and perfected versions of life, this medium was different; it had a raw, honest, and authentic feel.
As YouTube began to take off, it became clear that the company would need significant capital investment to support its growth, so YouTube decided to sell to another company. I, along with Salar Kamangar, made the case to bring the companies together. After the acquisition, founder Chad Hurley became CEO, then Salar, and I was incredibly honored to become YouTube’s third CEO six years ago.
Fast forward to today, and YouTube has more than two billion monthly users around the world, and 500 hours of video uploaded every minute. Looking ahead in 2020, we’re focused on making YouTube a place where everyone has a voice and can see the world as we:
Grow the creator ecosystem to be the best place for creators. Creators are the heart of YouTube, and they’re pioneering new content by vlogging about their lives, covering topics like gaming, fitness, comedy, hobbies, makeup tutorials, and every kind of How To imaginable. Want to fix that 10 year old refrigerator or car? YouTube likely has the video to replace every single part, and in multiple languages! Creators are at the cutting edge of culture and also becoming next generation media companies, boosting local economies with new jobs. Compared to last year, the number of creators earning five figures annually has increased more than 40 percent. And more than 170,000 YouTube channels around the world have over 100,000 subscribers — that’s hundreds of thousands of small businesses growing through the platform. YouTube is unique as a platform since we share the majority of revenue with our creators. Going forward, our goal is to continue to grow revenue and audiences of YouTube creators. We appreciate everything creators do to inspire, educate, and entertain their audiences. We know their fans appreciate them, too, and today we’re launching the third annual #LoveNotes campaign. Click here to show support for your favorite creators.
Partner with the music industry to grow revenue, break new artists and promote music. YouTube offers twin engines for revenue with advertising and subscribers, paying out more than $3 billion to the music industry last year from ads and subscriptions. We’re also partnering with artists to support and amplify their work through every phase of their career. Dua Lipa was in YouTube's first-ever Foundry program — our initiative to develop independent music acts. Justin Bieber and Billie Eilish have built massive global audiences by directly connecting and engaging with fans on YouTube. At just 18 years old, Billie is now one of the world's biggest stars with five recent Grammy wins. And from its early days, YouTube has been a home for artists who found creative ways to use the platform to help expand their reach. In 2005, OK Go had one of the first viral hits with their music video, "A Million Ways." Fans posted their own versions of the boy band-inspired choreography, and OK Go decided to make it official with a dance challenge on YouTube. We continue to see unknown artists make it big with a single viral hit. Last year, Lil Nas X’s "Old Town Road" became a YouTube phenomenon and the longest-leading single atop the Billboard Hot 100.
Work with media companies to extend their audiences through time shifting, new geographies and new users. We’re also boosting awareness of subscription services, sports and news highlights, long-form content, and movies with trailers and clips. And we’re connecting networks and media partners to a consumer base that is increasingly cutting the cord. Today, YouTube TV has more than 2 million subscribers, and our service has expanded nationwide in the U.S., offering access to more than 70 channels, including cable networks, live sports, and on-demand programming.
Help advertisers big and small find more customers. Advertisers recognize the reach and effectiveness of YouTube to build awareness, improve consideration, and drive results. In 2020, we’ll continue to make our solutions simpler and more effective, while keeping responsibility front of mind. We’ve spent the last three years working to strike the right balance between what advertisers think of as brand safety and what creators think of as demonetization. We continue to develop tools that give advertisers confidence about where their ads run. We’re also working to offer more transparency and certainty to creators with more guidance on our advertiser-friendly guidelines and an expansion of our creator self-certification program.
Continue to be a place where users come to laugh and to learn. YouTube has become the world's largest video library, a place where people come to be entertained, watch their favorite creators, get help with homework, learn a new hobby, see the latest music video and find community. We’ve seen the ways video is an effective medium for learning — users can see how to do something and repeat the lesson as many times as needed! Whether it’s help with a math class for college or learning how to sew and becoming an entrepreneur, we know YouTube is a key force for learning. To amplify this positive impact, we’re investing in quality family content, including our $100 million fund dedicated to the creation of thoughtful, original children’s content on YouTube and YouTube Kids.
With these new opportunities have come new challenges around responsibility. From the very first days, we realized the importance of setting the rules of the road with Community Guidelines. Over the years, we’ve built on our commitment to protect the YouTube community. While YouTube is clearly a platform — our focus as a company is to distribute the content produced by others — that doesn’t mean we don’t have responsibility. This is my number one focus, and we will continue to do the hard work to make sure that we’re on the right side of history.
We think about our responsibility efforts in terms of 4 Rs:
We remove content that violates policies as quickly as possible. In Q3 of last year alone, we removed more than 8.7 million videos.
We raiseup authoritative voices in searches and recommendations for news and other types of sensitive information.
We reduce our recommendations of content that brushes up against our policies. We’ve reduced watchtime of borderline content from non-subscribed recommendations in the U.S. by more than 70 percent. Last year we launched these efforts in other markets, including Brazil, France, Germany, and Mexico. And we started 2020 with launches in Italy and Japan, with plans to continue to expand throughout the year.
And we reward content that meets our even higher bar for monetization.
We’re proud of the work we’ve done over the past three years to raise the bar on responsibility. Over the past two years, we've made more than 50 policy changes, often in consultation with relevant outside experts around the world who help us craft guidelines that will protect our community in the long run. Today, problematic content is only a fraction of one percent of what’s watched on YouTube, and we want to drive that number down even more. And as the U.S. presidential election approaches, we will continue to balance openness with responsibility by ensuring that YouTube is a reliable source for information. Our efforts include raising up authoritative election news and removing bad actors and misleading content.
Over the next few months, we’ll be celebrating the moments that led up to the public launch of YouTube in May 2005. As I look back on my journey with online video over the past 15 years, I feel incredibly privileged to have been part of these key moments. What inspires me as CEO of YouTube are the stories I hear everyday of how YouTube enabled someone to build a business, gain new skills, laugh, cry, and connect with others. While I don’t know what the next 15 years will bring, I’m certain that YouTube will continue to empower the next generation of storytellers and enrich all our lives.
“We’ve allowed our most vulnerable children to be thrown away, to be traumatized and to be locked up in these jails and prisons, and we’ve got to change this narrative that some children aren’t children.” — Bryan Stevenson
As a human rights lawyer, I spent much of my time visiting girls behind bars. Many were arrested for child prostitution, even though they’d only lived 13 or 14 young years of life — not even close to the age of consent. They were not “child prostitutes,” but victims of child rape and trafficking. In prison, many of the girls were isolated for weeks, spending 23 hours a day in solitary confinement.
It was impossible for the struggles of these girls — and more broadly, the 48,000 U.S. children who are behind bars — to be witnessed. Their stories go unseen and unheard. So, to help these girls be more visible, I came to Google in 2015. And as Senior Counsel on Civil and Human Rights, I wanted to wield technology for the greater humanitarian good. YouTube and Google have always been a tool for people to change their own narratives.
YouTube and Google have also long supported efforts to improve our criminal justice system. Over the last four years, we’ve given over $30M in grants to criminal justice reform organizations, and partnered on projects like Love Letters, helping children send digital love letters to their incarcerated parents on Mother’s and Father’s Day. Through our philanthropy, and use of our platform, we’ve supported the work of those who are trying to do what's right.
That work continues today, with the launch of a project that uses immersive storytelling tools to build empathy through proximity.
Today, YouTube and Google, in partnership with the Campaign for Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY), are launching Project Witness — a campaign that allows us to learn from formerly incarcerated children using Virtual Reality.
It works like this: The VR film anchors the viewer in the experience of an incarcerated child. You’re able to see and hear the experience of being in solitary confinement from the viewpoint of a child in an adult prison. YouTube is a powerful platform for so much more than entertainment — from advocacy to education and awareness — that is open and accessible by everyone. VR is a unique format to pull the viewer into the story.
The film is available to everyone on YouTube, and can be watched on desktop or via a VR headset. We will also feature Project Witness at a number of YouTube Spaces and events throughout the year.
Project Witness is one part of YouTube’s ongoing criminal justice initiatives. On February 6, we released an episode of BookTube featuring Bryan Stevenson, based on his best-selling memoir “Just Mercy,” which is now also a feature film. And in the next few weeks we will release a documentary that explores the challenges of the cash bail system.
YouTube is a platform that seeks to give everyone a voice, and we're proud to support the voices who are changing the way formerly incarcerated children are perceived. That’s why I came here, and I haven’t looked back ever since.
When the Internet arrived, it brought to the world a buzzy connectivity. People could meet, talk and become friends online. Now, with the majority of young black people spending time in places like YouTube, videos have helped create a digital diaspora. It’s this diaspora that helps us — a people dispersed around the globe — feel like we’re not alone.
Here, in this digital space, no one needs to seek another person’s approval for who they are, or what they’re interested in. This has allowed a generation of creators to redefine blackness for themselves. In honor of Black History Month, we’re spotlighting a handful of creators who’ve done just that:
King Vader is a popular black creator known for reinterpreting anime. He uses black actors in a setting that’s more familiar to him and his viewers, such as his neighborhood. His “hood” anime videos (Hood Naruto, Hood Cowboy Bebop) have almost 50 million views. By inserting black actors and cultural indicators into this anime landscape, King Vader creates a black-shared experience within the broader-shared experience of the anime fandom. He’s part of the movement that helped views of videos related to anime more than double in 2019.
Breakout star, Jennelle Eliana, burst onto the YouTube scene last July with her first video from her blue van. Within weeks, she gained over 1.5 million subscribers and became 2019’s sixth, most-subscribed new creator. She’s part of the “van life” trend — a community created by people who have traded in a conventional way of life for life on the road.
Late last year, two black guys — separated by the Atlantic Ocean — broke all conventions of the type of music a black person is expected to make. Their break-out song, “Old Town Road,” went on to become one of the top music videos in the world. (It was #1 in the U.S.) Music is another area where black creators continue to innovate.
Black creators' interests and experiences put them at the forefront of every trend. The result is a kaleidoscope of blackness, defined by them and for them. They’re telling the world who they are and what they can be. Through their YouTube wins, they helped make 2019 an especially trend-setting and unforgettable one.
Keeping you and your family safe online is a top priority at YouTube. Today on Safer Internet Day, we’re sharing some of the ways we work to keep YouTube safe, and how you can be more in control of your YouTube experience. From built-in protections to easy-to-use tools, we hope you’ll take advantage of these tips:
1. Learn more about the content available on YouTube
We work hard to maintain a safe community and have guidelines that explain what we allow and don’t allow on YouTube. Most of what we remove is first-detected by machines, which means we actually review and remove prohibited content before you ever see it. But no system is perfect, so we make sure if you see something that doesn’t belong on YouTube, you can flag it for us and we’ll quickly review it. If you want to know what happened to a video you flagged, just visit your reporting history to find out.
2. Learn more about what data we collect and how to update your privacy settings
Check out Your Data in YouTube to browse or delete your YouTube activity and learn more about how we use data. Your YouTube privacy settings include managing your search and watch history. If you prefer more private viewing, you can use Incognito mode on the YouTube mobile app or Chrome browser on your computer. Learn more.
You can also take the Privacy Checkup and we’ll walk you through key privacy settings step-by-step. For YouTube, you’ll be able to do things like easily pause your YouTube History, or automatically delete data that may be used for your recommendations.
3. Check in on your security settings and keep your passwords safe
Head over to Security Checkup for personalized recommendations to help protect your data and devices across Google, including YouTube. Here, you can manage which third-party apps have access to your account data and also take the Password Checkup, which tells you if any of your passwords are weak and how to change them. In addition, you can access Password Manager in your Google Account to help you remember and securely store strong passwords for all your online accounts.
4. Learn more about how ads work and control what ads you see on YouTube
We do not sell your personal information to anyone, and give you transparency, choice and control over how your information is used as a part of Google. If you’re curious about why you’re seeing an ad, you can click on Why this ad for more information. If you no longer find a specific ad relevant, you can choose to block that ad by using the Mute this ad control. And you can always control the kinds of ads you see, or turn off ads personalization any time in your Ad Settings.
5. Try the YouTube Kids app, built with parental controls
We recommend parents use YouTube Kids if they plan to allow kids under 13 to watch independently. YouTube Kids is a separate app with family-friendly videos and parental controls. We work hard to keep the videos on YouTube Kids suitable for kids and have recently reduced the number of channels on the app. The app also empowers parents to choose what’s the right experience for their kids and family, such as which content is available for their kids, how long they can use the app for and much more.
In addition to YouTube Kids, we also recently made changes to Made for Kids content on YouTube to better protect children’s privacy.
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The confetti may have hit the field for the Kansas City Chiefs, but the Big Game isn’t over for the ads. Fans have been watching and re-watching their favorites from in-and-out of the game on YouTube AdBlitz, and it’s finally time to reveal our top five overall and most-viewed by content category.
Congratulations to Amazon! As the only brand to cross 60 million views, Amazon’s #BeforeAlexa Super Bowl spot, starring Ellen DeGeneres, charmed the pants off of football fans this year to be the top-viewed ad on AdBlitz 2020!
Here are the top five most-viewed Big Game ads on YouTube AdBlitz as of Wednesday, February 5, at 11:59 p.m. EST:
1. Amazon
Amazon gives us a blast-from-the-past by answering the question, “What did we do before Alexa?” With a medieval theme, people cover everything, from the temperature to news to jokes, all features on Alexa. (Features Ellen Degeneres and Portia)
2. Jeep
In celebration of Groundhog Day and playing on the movie featuring Bill Murray, Murray takes a groundhog and escapes in an orange Jeep for endless adventures.
3. HyundaiUSA
Hyundai pays homage to Boston by featuring Chris Evans, John Krasinski, Rachel Dratch, and David “Big Papi” Ortiz, who react to one of the Sonata’s newest and smartest features: Remote Smart Parking Assist.
4. GenesisUSA
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend host a party calling out and saying farewell to old luxuries, such as lying about plastic surgery, and saying hello to new luxuries like the Genesis GV80.
5. T-Mobile
Anthony Anderson's mama tests T-Mobile’s nationwide 5G network by video calling him at the park, in the kitchen and even at the club, showing that it works nearly everywhere.
Top-viewed ads on YouTube AdBlitz as of Wednesday, February 5, at 11:59 p.m. EST by content category:
