The Google-owned video-streaming site cited examples such as Holocaust denial, videos promoting Nazi ideology and content alleging the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax as videos it would remove. It said the policy will be enforced starting Wednesday, though it will take several months to “fully ramp up” and expand its coverage. It said thousands of channels will be removed as a result. (Washington Post)

Talking point: Policy-wise, YouTube is going farther than Facebook and Twitter, both of which allow hoaxes on their platforms, as long as they don’t promote or lead to violence. Facebook, for example, has refused to take down a viral video altered to make House Speaker Nancy Pelosi look drunk; YouTube removed it. But though YouTube has had policies against hate speech since it was founded in 2005, it’s often neglected to remove content once flagged. In April, a Bloomberg report found that its executives had ignored in-house concerns about its toxic content for years, instead prioritizing engagement metrics and, therefore, profit for the company. Until now, the firm has responded to hateful content mainly by giving channels warnings and demonetizing them. Despite this new policy, there’s some indication it’s continuing to lean on that tactic, as it did with Steven Crowder’s channel, a right-wing commentator who has been making videos mocking Vox host Carlos Maza, and using homophobic and racial slurs against him. A YouTube spokesperson said upon review, the videos did not violate YouTube policies—even though they ban racism and homophobia—and would not be taken down; the channel was demonetized.