YouTube has sent this email to their German users explaining their German ‘elections misinformation policies.’

Photo: The logo of video-sharing website YouTube is displayed on a smartphone on November 19, 2018 in Berlin, Germany.Thomas Trutschel | Photothek via Getty Images

23 September 2021 | James Porteous | Clipper Media

Hi xxxxx,

We’re reaching out to inform you about our elections misinformation policies. We will be applying our election integrity policy to false claims regarding the outcome of the German federal election, once the final results are determined by the Federal Returning Officer.

Key information to know about the election integrity policy:
• Content advancing false claims that widespread fraud, error, or glitches changed the outcome of the German federal election will be removed from YouTube. This applies to false claims concerning the outcome of the German parliamentary (Bundestag) elections, the formation of the new government, or the election and appointment of the next German Chancellor.
• YouTube videos that link to content containing false election outcome claims off of YouTube (e.g. on a third-party video website) will also be removed.
• This policy will only be applied to videos uploaded to YouTube on or after the date on which the final results are determined by the Federal Returning Officer.
• We want to give creators time to get familiar with this update, so we’ll be removing videos that violate this policy without giving a strike to the channel for 30 days after the day the results are determined.

You can read more about our elections misinformation policies in the YouTube help center, which we’ve recently consolidated into a single article here.

We understand that we sometimes make mistakes. If you think that your content doesn’t violate the Community Guidelines and either received a strike or was removed in error, you can appeal following the steps detailed here.

Thanks,
The YouTube Team