Hate speech policy

We encourage free speech and try to defend your right to express unpopular points of view, but we don't permit hate speech.

Hate speech refers to content that promotes violence against or has the primary purpose of inciting hatred against individuals or groups based on certain attributes, such as:

  • race or ethnic origin
  • religion
  • disability
  • gender
  • age
  • veteran status
  • sexual orientation/gender identity

There is a fine line between what is and what is not considered to be hate speech. For instance, it is generally okay to criticize a nation-state, but if the primary purpose of the content is to incite hatred against a group of people solely based on their ethnicity, or if the content promotes violence based on any of these core attributes, like religion, it violates our policy.

Reporting hateful content

Keep in mind that not everything that’s mean or insulting is hate speech. If you’re upset by content that a specific person is posting, you may wish to consider blocking the user.

However, if you feel that content violates our hate speech policy, report it to YouTube for review in one of the following ways:

  • Flag the video : You may report hateful content that you think may violate our community guidelines by flagging it.
  • File an abuse report : If you have found multiple videos, comments, or a user’s entire account that you wish to report, please visit our reporting tool, where you will be able to submit a more detailed report.
 
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