YouTube has been cracking down on channels quite a bit lately. There’s a channel called Sarah Finance, with nearly 700,000 subscribers, who made a video titled “YouTube Might Delete My Channel.”
In the video, she posted a screenshot showing that she received over ten warnings from YouTube in less than 10 days.
There’s also a channel called “How to AI” with over 300,000 subscribers, which vanished overnight. The channel owner woke up to find the channel gone, and the appeal was rejected—completely lost.
The channel “Make Money Matt,” with nearly 1 million subscribers, has to delete videos, change thumbnails, and modify titles to avoid being banned.
So, don’t assume that having a large number of subscribers makes you immune. Even someone like Mark Tilbury, with 7 million subscribers, faces risks with his videos.
This information is important for everyone. Even if you currently have no subscribers and work hard to post videos, if you gain 5,000 subscribers a year later but fail to comply with YouTube’s new rules, you could still lose your channel. This article explains the new rules and policies, clarifies why channels get suspended, and mentions that even my own channel has faced deletion.
A few months ago, YouTube updated its policies on spam, deceptive practices, and scams. However, the rules are somewhat vague. If you click on the scam section, it states that such content is not allowed, but this is not an exhaustive list.
In the fraud policy, exaggerated promises are not allowed, such as claiming that viewers can get rich quickly, or that miracle cures can cure cancer. Also, videos stating that following a certain plan can earn $50,000 by tomorrow are prohibited. Take a look at Sarah Finance’s channel, where both the thumbnails and titles contain such content.
In her latest video, she shared a warning she received about issues with the titles of her videos. For example, a title like “7 AI Tools That Will Make You Rich in 2025” violates the rule against promising viewers quick wealth. In fact, this already seems relatively mild, yet it was still automatically flagged by the algorithm. During the appeal process, manual review would likely reject it because the entire channel follows this style. As a result, the channel with nearly a million subscribers has rebranded its focus—shifting away from discussing money-making topics to teaching audience growth and AI tools. Mark Tilbury, who has 7 million subscribers, also often uses similar titles in his videos, which similarly carries the risk of being flagged.
Other updates in the policy regarding video spam include: promising viewers certain content but redirecting them to other websites, and posting the same content across multiple channels—both of which are prohibited. However, these rules can be ambiguous. For example, when creators share methods to go viral, and their thumbnails occasionally look similar, it’s unclear whether this counts as duplicate content.
Do not mass repost other creators’ content, do not encourage viewers to install harmful software or visit privacy-risk websites, and do not upload videos automatically generated by AI. The “How to AI” channel was likely banned because it taught batch editing of thumbnails and videos, which violates the rule requiring human-created content. However, AI can still be used to improve efficiency, such as demonstrating how to create animations with AI in videos—not by automatic generation, but by teaching viewers to use ChatGPT for image creation and then editing them manually.
Additionally, you cannot promise viewers free money, products, software, or in-game benefits. You cannot post a large volume of affiliate content. Reaction channels cannot only post reaction videos. Thumbnails and titles must not mislead viewers. Clickbait is prohibited. You cannot post spam videos encouraging subscriptions. Selling live streams is not allowed. You cannot use third-party software to stream TV programs or songs, nor can you download videos or songs.
The biggest issue is promising viewers quick wealth or monetary rewards, which has led to many channels being banned. We are currently in a turbulent period, and it is expected that YouTube’s policies will become clearer and more well-defined over time.
Therefore, regardless of the type of channel you run in the future, it is essential to carefully review the rules. Clickbait and exaggerated promise-based styles are becoming increasingly unsustainable. However, on the other hand, this is a positive development, as such videos have historically gained massive viewership through unethical practices and first-mover advantages, which is unfair to channels that operate properly.