It’s official: YouTube’s loyal viewers are turning towards connected TVs to watch their favorite creators. In a 

 released on June 25th, the platform reported that over 100 million people now watch YouTube (and YouTube TV) via their TV screens each month.

YouTube shared this impressive statistic during its ninth annual NewsFront presentation, "Brandcast Delivered." The industry event is designed to attract advertisers, and during it, YouTube released some interesting metrics around Watch Time and viewing behavior.

For instance, 450 million hours of video content uploaded to YouTube is consumed via TVs screens daily. This is an 80 percent increase compared to last year, as 2019’s number was just 

. And the year before that, the number was just 180 million hours.

For 2020, YouTube confirmed that live events make up a large portion of the 450 million hours of Watch Time; those views, specifically, increased 250% in March. To answer the demand, the video-sharing service has some original live events lined up, including “Ultimate Home Championship,” a virtual competition hosted by Stephen Curry (see below)

What YouTube Viewers Have Been Watching During Lockdown

YouTube also shared some revealing insights about what viewers watched in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

For one, between March and May 2020, views of sourdough-related content increased by more than 400 percent! With shortages of fresh bread reported across the world in the first stages of lockdown, many viewers turned to online video tutorials in a bid to learn new baking skills. It's no surprise that yeast and flour sales 

 as many people coped with self-isolation by baking sourdough, and other kinds of bread.

This video, published by superstar food channel '

' on February 27th 2020, has generated 3.8M views to date with its simple guide to baking artisanal bread:

YouTube shared another insight that intersects with the wave of panic shopping and restaurant closures the pandemic brought. The platform reported that views for cooking-related videos have increased 45% since last year, as people sought to prepare more meals at home.

And yet another insight revealed a 200% rise in views for workout videos since mid-March.

The country has started to slowly open up again, but YouTube’s data suggests that as more people stayed at home, online activity, at least on YouTube, increased tremendously.

Viewers watched an abundance of content that either solved the newer problems they were facing or entertained them during periods of social isolation.

If you want to get more insights into YouTube then make sure to download vidIQ. Over 1 million creators use vidIQ to help with keyword and competitor research, channel audits, and so much more. 

And if you’re serious about growing your YouTube views and subscribers, sign up for exclusive access to the 

. Learn how to launch a successful YouTube Channel in just 30 days.

YouTube has released some interesting stats around viewer behavior, including how we're consuming video content, and what kind we've been watching during the last few months.

Over 100 Million People Are Now Watching YouTube via TV

For all the parents out there, how are your kids holding up? Are they growing restless with all the time spent indoors and need something exciting to do?

If the answer is yes, YouTube hears you, sees you, and wants you to know that help is on the way. To ease the disappointment of a summer indoors, the platform is launching 

, a learning program for kids to safely learn, grow, and have fun.

This virtual experience could replace in-person camps that temporarily closed due to the coronavirus. To that end, YouTube will provide a balance of fun content that inspires kids to stay active, as well as educational lessons to help them grow.

The platform will organize these video experiences into four categories: STEM, the arts, sports, and adventure.

YouTube’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics camp is about learning and 

. For families with teenagers, the STEM for teens section contains videos on topics like space exploration, how to build a robot, and surprisingly, how to make a lemon battery. These videos come from a range of well-known channels. 

, and Adam Savage’s Tested (below) are just a few of the information hubs that will help teens appreciate STEM.

Additionally, Camp YouTube also has STEM content for children under 13. These younger students will learn how to cook up slime, where black holes come from, what happens to the human body in space, and more.

YouTube’s art camp is an exciting place for kids to explore their inner creativity. Some of the videos that stand out in the teens section include a creative writing workshop and a 10-day guitar starter course. For the videos catering to kids under 13, there are DIY challenges, lessons on drawing, cooking tutorials, and more.

In this section’s description, YouTube says the arts camp will foster self-expression, and that certainly seems to be the case. If any kid wanted to grow creatively, from a visual or performing arts perspective, this would be the place to do it.

It’s going to get noisy for this virtual 

, but that’s OK, right? It’s a good idea to move your nice rugs, coffee tables, and lamps out of the way, because here, you can expect everything from running drills to basic soccer moves.

The video content for both age groups is pretty exciting. On the teen side, a baseball history overview and football training tips are just two videos that could potentially hook young viewers. Also, there’s an ultimate kickball lesson that looks like an absolute blast for anyone, kid or adult.

One of the unexpected benefits of the sports camp is that it contains videos on meditation. You can find them in both the teen and under 13 sections, and YouTube did a great thing by adding this wellness content - especially when kids are cooped up inside.

 helps kids appreciate the natural wonders around them, big and small. They’ll learn about what to bring when going on a hiking trip, the fun activities they can do outdoors, nocturnal wildlife, and more.

While the goal of this camp is to bring the outside world inside, kids could take some of these lessons to the backyard too. There are photography adventure videos that kids could repeat in their own neighborhoods, as well as a guide for using binoculars.

The STEM, Arts, Sports, and Adventure sections make up the bulk of Camp YouTube, but the program has even more benefits, such as:

Campfire talks on race and discrimination

Break time clips that share snack recipes or craft ideas

Traditional summer camps are risky during a pandemic, but Camp YouTube is a great alternative to explore. It inspires kids to learn new things and get moving physically, which is exactly what summertime is all about.

 then make sure to download vidIQ. Over 1 million creators use vidIQ to help with keyword and competitor research, channel audits, and so much more. 

If you’re serious about growing your YouTube views and subscribers, sign up for exclusive access to the 

After a long few months of lockdown and homeschooling, YouTube wants to bring the excitement back to learning with its new Summer Camp

YouTube Brings on the Learning & Fun with its Summer Camp Initiative

The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many other Black people at the hands of the police and others, have sparked protests and riots across the world.

But outside of their families, and local communities, the names of those who have died still might not be as widely known by the public without video evidence. But when racial injustice goes viral, it amplifies conversations about inequality in ways that the justice system does not and can not.

Following the death of George Floyd, social movements were initiated, fundraisers were organized, and new laws were penned to create change. It’s almost too magnificent to believe, but that’s 

YouTube seems to understand this more than any brand. As a pioneer of online video, the company is using its platform to support anti-racism - both independently and with the help of talented creators.

To help spread the word, we’re highlighting important conversations from creators, plus what YouTube is doing to help. Keep scrolling to hear their perspectives, then do everything you can to support the 

 is highlighting racial justice issues. These featured videos, which you can view as playlists on YouTube’s own channel, share perspectives from Black creators, educational resources, and historical viewpoints on race.

Here are the 10 Playlists YouTube is promoting:

How to Talk to Kids About Racial Injustice

The videos within these playlists, namely “

”, discuss what it’s like to be Black in America. These featured creators talk about why Black people are angry and tired, what Black Lives Matter protests are really about, how to stay positive during dark times, and more.

Marques Brownlee on Tokenism and Racial Profiling

In terms of YouTubers creating conversations around racism and inequality, top tech expert 

 explains the loneliness of being the only Black person in white spaces. In a video published on June 4th, he taps into his youth, expressing his love for golf, ultimate frisbee, and making tech videos.

Although these things were great in the beginning, Marques confirms that as you climb the ranks, there’s much less diversity.

As a result, he began to question everything. Did he make the professional ultimate frisbee team because he was good enough? Or were decision-makers using his skin color to satisfy diversity quotas?

Being a competitor was almost enough to distract him from those worries, Brownlee says. Almost. He’d snap back to reality while driving away from practices, hyperaware of how he could be stopped by police for next to nothing.

To Brownlee, this painful duality—being tokenized but also hunted by authorities isn’t something we should try to disprove. He states:

“Not only is racism obviously unacceptable, but we also have to actively work against it. There’s always, somehow, people twisting that, making it political, making it a two-sided thing. I don’t understand how being anti-racist can possibly be controversial.”

Uninterrupted on the De-humanization of Black Athletes

, a sports network co-founded by Lebron James is also front and center of the conversation. The publisher uploaded a video on June 12th imploring sports fans to view professional athletes as more than just their jobs.

The video addresses the paradox of rooting for Black athletes on fields, courts, and arenas but nowhere else. It states:

“You ask us to move the chains, apply pressure, go for the jugular. You scream our names and wear our names and protect our names because we’re supposed to be family. But what about out here? Are you willing to scream for these names out here?”

Under that quote from the video, four names quickly flash across the screen: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, and Trayvon Martin. Uninterrupted doesn’t hold back in its message. The moving rhetoric of the narrator gives undeniable truth to every scene on the screen.

Important Conversations: Allyship and Black Trans Lives Matter

YouTube’s Spotlight playlists are only one way to join the conversation. TV personalities Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert are addressing racism on their own channels too.

By publishing videos about what it means to be anti-racist and 

, they are supporting Black lives and anti-racism.

These are great videos to watch because they normalize what allyship is supposed to be - using your platform, money, or time to dismantle racism as a non-person of color.

Nevertheless, the world has a long way to go in supporting all Black people. Often times, cisgender people carry the bulk of the conversation while members of the LGBTQ community are left out - especially Black transgender people.

Creators are addressing this too. YouTubers like Chauncey Jadore (below) and 

 are sharing their frustrations about the 

 because there are simply too many names: Riah Milton, Dominique Fells, Muhlaysia Booker, Kiki Fantroy, and Bee Love Slater, among others.

And what’s more, Black trans males are a part of that number, including the recent shooting of Tony McDade.

YouTube’s Initiative to Support Black Creators

In response to the global outcry for equality, YouTube is taking action. In a 

, she confirmed that YouTube will “amplify and develop the voices of Black creators” with a multiyear, $100M fund.

The money is already being put to use, and one of the first events was a live-streamed fundraiser called “Bear Witness, Take Action” on June 13th. It included artists and public figures such as Roxanne Gay and John Legend, as well as YouTubers 

For nearly two hours, “Bear Witness, Take Action” shared roundtable discussions, panels, and musical tributes to raise awareness for racial injustice. As of today's date, the live stream has generated over $1M.

The message from Black creators is clear: systemic racism, inequality, lack of visibility, police brutality, and other issues directly impacting Black lives need to be addressed on a global scale. Now.

YouTube is boldly amplifying that message and so should every other person, company, and brand.

As a pioneer in online video, YouTube is supporting #BlackLivesMatter both as a brand, and as a platform for Black creators.

Black Lives Matter: How the YouTube Community is Amplifying Black Voices

During the coronavirus crisis, YouTube has confirmed that health and safety is its number one priority. To ensure that, a lot of its employees will be working away from the office, and the platform is relying a lot more on 

machine learning and A.I to judge potentially harmful video content

. You can read real-time updates from YouTube regarding COVID 19 and the 

But a possible increase in takedowns may not be the only YouTube process to impact creators right now.

Coronavirus & The Impact on YouTube Monetization

Right now, fewer humans are maintaining and running the YouTube platform. Applications to the YouTube Partner Program require a manual review so it’s highly likely this process is going to be affected too.

Usually, if there are no problems with your YouTube channel, the application process takes about a month. But if you're applying for the YouTube Partner Program today, expect it to take significantly longer, as confirmed by YouTube itself:

Of course, there are going to be exceptions to this general statement. Some may find that their channels are still monetized within days. Others may find their channel not being monetized for six months. Unfortunately, in this current climate, we're going to have to accept that these types of things are going to happen.

A question that keeps coming up is if YouTube is sending its workforce home to do their jobs, why can't they do what they usually do if in the office? And that is a good question, and the team at 

, a YouTube channel made by YouTube employees, was on hand to give us a good answer:

"Many of our reviewers are working through outside companies that are working onsite where they're reviewing these videos and sensitive material in onsite locations. Now as those sites have actually been shut down to protect the workers, the workers don't necessarily have all the equipment at home".

In order to address this, YouTube is actually shipping thousands of laptops to those workers in those countries. However, that's not going to work in all circumstances. Keep in mind that there are going to be some types of policies where people won't be able to work on them from home due to the sensitive nature of the content.

Two words come to mind at this point. Patience and understanding. Your application 

YouTube to Creators: Spread the #StayHome Message

Now of course if you are engaging in this new practice we're all becoming familiar with - social distancing - you're probably reading this at home. Which is YouTube's latest initiative to make sure that we're all doing the right thing. Spread the word to stop the spread.

If you choose to use YouTube to share content urging people to stay home, consider videos that are helpful, fun, and informative, and tag them with #stayhome and #WithMe. Read more about 

YouTube’s request to creators to spread the word about coronavirus

YouTube: Capping Internet Bandwidth in Europe

Of course, since all of those people who are doing the right thing are staying at home right now, a lot of them are going onto the internet and in particular, video, to keep themselves entertained. That means usage of such video platforms as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Facebook, and of course, YouTube, are going through the roof.

And in order to make sure that all of these people watching video don't break the internet, YouTube are capping their bandwidth in Europe. Now what that actually means is that if you are in Europe, you watch a YouTube video, the default quality will be set lower than you may usually expect. That doesn't mean that you can't up the quality if you really need to, but for the majority of people, they're just going to press play and they're going be happy with whatever quality is pushed out to them.

Of course this restriction may be pushed out to the rest of the world, and they may even cap video quality in the future, But going forward, I don’t think creators should change their attitude to uploading videos. If you do want to publish in 4K, make sure you do so, so in months to come, people will be able to watch your videos at the best quality.

There is no doubt that the Coronavirus is going to continue to impact the YouTube platform for weeks to come, so do check out our 

If you want to take your YouTube channel to the next level and 

 then make sure to download vidIQ. Join over 1 million other users and use vidIQ to help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take actionable steps 

And if you’re really serious about growing your YouTube views and subscribers, sign up for exclusive access to the 

 and learn how to launch a successful YouTube Channel in just 30 days.

YouTube is responding to the current health crisis with new guidelines around application reviews to its Partner Program. If you are waiting for your channel to be monetized, it may take a little longer than usual.

YouTube Creators: Expect Delays to Monetization Requests [Coronavirus News]

With over 2 Billion users, YouTube is in a unique position to guide the conversation around the current health crisis the world is facing. And the platform is encouraging creators to spread the word about social distancing and self-isolation to help flatten the curve of growth of 

With more countries under lockdown every day, the need to stay at home (unless you are a key worker, or need essential food or health supplies) is truly the only way we can contain the spread of this pandemic.

YouTube has been incredibly responsive to the advice given by Governments around the world and are now actively encouraging creators and influencers to '

'. It is asking YouTubers to consider publishing positive videos urging their audience to #StayHome, and creating content that viewers will find entertaining and informative under the #WithMe banner.

The platform has also rolled out resources that offer educational support for children, families and adults over the next few months.

YouTube wants creators to publish content that not only encourages viewers to stay home right now, but offers a way of entertaining and including them in a wide range of activities. Creators who have built an engaged following have the opportunity to support that community with videos that inform, teach, and inspire.

The new initiative, which promotes the #StayHome #WithMe message, is encouraging a sense of community and inclusion among both creators and viewers. YouTube is 

 to ensure your coronavirus videos are advertiser-friendly, factual, and hit the right tone.

, YouTube is curating a range of topics including the following:

The playlists feature a huge range of creators, including late-night talk show hosts like Jimmy Fallon, who have moved their broadcasts to YouTube:

YouTubers who plan to broadcast Premier or live-stream content around the #StayHome #WithMe campaign are also being offered a range of emojis to use for promotion:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you for sharing the message to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StayHome?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StayHome</a> through your <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WithMe?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WithMe</a> creativity! Let your viewers know about these emojis they can use in chat while you live stream and Premiere. Check out the full list in the reply below. <a href="https://t.co/5rK4GtImzz">pic.twitter.com/5rK4GtImzz</a></p>&mdash; YouTube Creators #StayHome (@ytcreators) <a href="https://twitter.com/ytcreators/status/1241130556055793667?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2020</a></blockquote>

 that features informative and educational channels that create content around math, history, the arts, science and many more subjects.

The content is organized by age group with categories for pre school children, kids aged 5 and over, and teenagers. The Learning hub will also provide extra resources around education, such as schedules and relevant playlists.

YouTube is encouraging creators to 'spread the word to stop the spread' of coronavirus. Here are some ways YouTubers can play their part in the campaign to #StayHome #WithMe

YouTube to Creators: Spread the Word about Coronavirus

Even if your video has nothing to do with the 

, your content still may be demonetized. Worse still, it may even slow down your application into the YouTube Partner Program, so you can't monetize your channel at all.

 bookmarked, now is the time to do so, as this will be a fountain of information over the coming weeks and months.

, YouTube has informed us that to reduce the risk of coronavirus, they are reducing in-office staffing, to quite rightly prioritize the health and safety of their employees. Creators who log in to their account are also seeing this announcement:

The knock-on effect of this for creators is that YouTube will now be relying much more on machine learning to detect potentially harmful content on the platform.

To be clear, this is not just about coronavirus or COVID-19 content. This is all of the other potentially harmful and dangerous content that's pushed onto YouTube every single day and YouTube has comprehensive guidelines for.

What Increased YouTube Automation Means For a Creator

Now there are very few human reviewers looking at this content, and YouTube is relying on AI and machine learning. As a result, what you can expect to see, as creators, is an increase in video removals, even if, ultimately, they don't violate community guidelines.

Why? Because basically, machine learning sometimes gets it wrong, as we well know. Because of this expected increase in errors, YouTube won't issue strikes unless they have a high confidence that the video does actually violate guidelines.

And YouTube does already have an appeal system in place which you can still use but because the human workforce is less likely to be in the YouTube offices right now, you can expect delays in those appeals being reviewed.

Because of this, YouTube will be more cautious about the content they promote. Live streams and unreviewed content may not be searchable, or discoverable on the homepage or through recommendations.

The Impact on YouTube’s Partner Program

So, we know there are fewer people working at YouTube offices and that's completely understandable. Everybody, at this time, needs to be safe, and stay healthy.

YouTube has talked about how video content is going to be impacted on the platform. But what they didn't mention is the YouTube Partner Program. And I think that's going to be under similar constraints because human reviewers do look into each and every channel that they allow into that.

So if you have applied for the YouTube Partner Program or monetization in the last four to six weeks, don't be surprised if there is a significant delay. And folks, we have to accept that.

Now as well as the YouTube Creator Blog website, there is also a super useful support page that I will recommend you bookmark as well. And it's all to do with coronavirus and COVID-19 updates.

YouTube has set up a dedicated update page on the 

, which is being updated on a daily basis. So as well as the stories we've covered today, they are also closing their YouTube Space facilities temporarily and will be allowing creators to actually monetize a coronavirus and COVID-19 content. We'll have more on that in the near future.

As of right now, you may have noticed that if you do try and monetize content that even includes a passing mention of the coronavirus, you will almost certainly get the yellow dollar icon. As well as daily updates, the dedicated support page has a lot more information, including FAQs on monetization around coronavirus, and COVID-19.

YouTube has confirmed that it will be relying on automation and machine learning to detect potentially harmful content being uploaded to the platform during the current crisis. Find out what that means for creators.

YouTube Warns Takedowns May Increase During Coronavirus Crisis

Note: The impact of Coronavirus is being updated by the hour. The content of this article is correct at time of writing but is, of course, subject to change.

Coronavirus, COVID-19, whatever you want to call it. How do we tackle such a topic? As a YouTube creator, or a viewer, what does coronavirus mean to you right now?

 rapidly changing news story, and what I say right now may not be relevant or accurate in a day or a week. This is the biggest global news story to hit in this new digital media age, and it is one that is impacting billions of lives. It's affecting everything we know and we have to take this topic very seriously. So, from one creator to another, if you are going to post videos on the coronavirus, please do it responsibly.

Coronavirus: How it Changed Everything in Less Than a Week

In the past few days, we've learned that all of the major North American sports leagues, such as NBA, NHL, MLS, have postponed their seasons to prevent large gatherings of people. Schools are closing everywhere and shops are running low on supplies.

Essentially, in the real, physical world, authorities all over the globe are cautioning their citizens against social interaction, and, as a result, technology, the internet, the connected digital world, is going to be tested like it never has been before.

People are being forced into self-isolation or self-quarantine. And if there's nothing to do outside the four walls of their own house, they are naturally going to gravitate towards the Internet for entertainment, and that includes video.

But that comes with an incredible amount of responsibility, especially on a platform such as YouTube, where creators are sharing their information with an audience hungry for answers.

So, YouTube, Coronavirus, creator, viewer. How does this all work? Well, let's start with this question that I do not want to ask, but YouTube must answer. As a creator, how can I get more views and more subscribers and grow my channel from coronavirus?

As I said earlier, in my opinion, I think this is the largest global event of the digital media age, and unavoidably, this creates opportunity.

Coronavirus didn't even register as a search term at the beginning of 2020. Today, it's seemingly the only thing that's searched for. Typing the word into the YouTube search bar, and into 

 will tell you that it has massive search volume, but content to support that keyword hasn't yet quite caught up. Demand outstrips supply, and when that happens, those who have supply capitalize.

Coronavirus: One of the Most Searched For Keywords on YouTube

Forgive me for a second, but I want you to cast your mind back to a much simpler time where the stakes were a lot less important, but the concept was still the same. 

 that anticipated that this may become one of the biggest YouTube stories of the year, and set up a livestream to follow the subscriber counts. That channel benefited with hundreds of millions of views and 2.5 million subscribers. It's probably not going to surprise you, but there are channels out there who are applying exactly the same formula to the coronavirus.

As I search for the term on YouTube and filter by livestreams only, there is one channel called Roylab Stats that began a livestream on the Coronavirus at the end of January, when the concern and the keyword interest was at a fraction of the size it is today.

Right now, there are over 40,000 people watching the numbers the stats, and the graph trends upwards. This channel had less than 1,000 subscribers at the end of January. It's now growing at a rate of over 5,000 subscribers a day.

From purely an objective point of view, this is YouTube at its finest. A creator has discovered a topic that was going to trend in the future and created content before anyone else. They've pitched it well with SEO, and now, a mass audience is desperate for information on this keyword, so are flocking to this video.

Of course, YouTube is a search engine and a very good one at that. It's always trying to predict what you are searching for, and then serving up the content that you want to watch.

As you well know, when you type words into the YouTube search bar, it will auto-complete with predicted searches. Today, if you type in how to, the top search result is ‘how to make hand sanitizer’, along with some other coronavirus-related searches.

In this sense, YouTube is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you are worried about Coronavirus, it's in YouTube's search and discovery nature to tell you about it, and once again, YouTube will reward those who seize this trending topic.

Coronavirus, YouTube, & Late Night Content

So, it's fair to say that, currently, Coronavirus is a huge searchable topic on YouTube with channels of all sizes benefiting from it, whether rightly or wrongly. You could argue that we've looked at fairly safe styles of delivery, a factual livestream and an educational video on how to prevent catching Coronavirus. But what about when the lines get a little blurred?

The YouTube Trending Tab has always been a source of controversy, especially for creators who believe that it doesn't reflect what's really trending on the platform, and instead, favors certain channels, chief among those, North American late-night talk shows.

"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" is one such channel, and a recent clip from his show found its way onto the trending page of YouTube.

The clip itself is a collection of news stories, obviously delivered in a comedic way, and Coronavirus takes up no more than 30 seconds of a five-minute video. But the decision was made by the YouTube channel manager to include Coronavirus both in the title and the video description of this content. They wanted people to find this because of the Coronavirus mention:

I think, at this stage, most people will take this content at face value, as a light-hearted piece of fun, but at the other end of the spectrum, there are people who are being seriously affected by Coronavirus and are searching for information on it.

Now, one thing that should happen at the slightest mention of Coronavirus in a video is that YouTube will display info cards and panels relevant to your location that push you to trusted information, and this video is a test in itself of that process.

This is one of the many measures YouTube is taking to try and stay on the right side of this topic. It is also promoting authoritative sources in search and recommendations and showing information panels on relevant videos.

, which gives you an unfiltered account of videos with the most views over a certain period of time, the majority of the content about Coronavirus seems to be coming from those American late night talk show hosts.

This isn't necessarily a measure of what YouTube is recommending most to viewers, but it does seem to be a useful insight into the psyche of the average YouTube user right now. In these times of great uncertainty, they still want to be entertained.

Update: YouTube is now allowing videos about Coronavirus to be monetized on a limited number of channels

Now, for those creators who are finding, I don't want to say success, more traction on their channel because of Coronavirus content, does that mean they are actually going to profit from it? Well, in this case, I think YouTube have definitely taken the right approach, and that is no.

YouTube already has in place comprehensive advertiser guidelines that state what type of content may have limited ads or no ads at all, and the Coronavirus clearly falls into one of these categories, a global health crisis.

So, if your intention as a creator is to tackle the Coronavirus topic head-on, like we have in this video, you wouldn't expect to monetize your content, and that would be fair, right?

Well, hang on. Remember the video from earlier on, that was all about making homemade hand sanitizer? It was clearly being made with the Coronavirus in mind, but not exclusively about the Coronavirus, and it's not the first how to make hand sanitizer video on YouTube.

Almost four years ago, the WhatsUpMoms channel posted a DIY hand sanitizer video, and for years, that video has trundled along at less than 50 views per hour. But now, in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, the video is getting over 1,200 views per hour, and in recent weeks, there are people commenting on how they've arrived at this video.

It is clear that this video has gained traction recently from the Coronavirus outbreak, but (at time of writing) it is missing any YouTube information about the Coronavirus. However, if we visit the 

 that includes the keyword in the title, there you will find Coronavirus info cards from YouTube.

Now, also at time of writing, the WhatsUpMom DIY hand sanitizer video from four years ago still has ads running on it. The other channel is too small to be even in the YouTube Partner Program, so we can't be sure whether this video would be monetized, but I would suspect not, since the Creator Blog does go on to state that YouTube currently does not allow monetization if a video includes more than a passing mention of the Coronavirus.

YouTube does recognize that there may be a need to adjust its policies on this issue. Its 

"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.”

YouTube has policies in place that confirm if there is a global health crisis and you create content on that topic it is going to limit or show no ads on that content. But if that global health crisis goes on for six weeks, and may go on for six months to a year, then, yeah, actually, we think you may have permission to monetize your content, as long as we trust you as creators.

That, again, is putting a lot of responsibility both on YouTube and creators to do the right thing.

YouTube is already well-prepared for self-certification, as it already has mechanisms in place. You will have all seen the 

 requirements crop up on your channel, but what you may not yet have seen are the ad-friendly self-certification screens that YouTube have been trialing for over a year now.

Presumably, YouTube are adapting the self-certifications for Coronavirus content, and we’ll know more in the coming weeks. Clearly, there is a lot to talk about, and by no means are we or YouTube done with this topic.

I see this as a starting point for a conversation about how the Coronavirus is impacting YouTube, especially creators just like you, and I want you to help us guide this conversation.

Coronavirus is affecting everyone and everything across the globe right now, including YouTube. Let's take a look at its impact on you, the creator.

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