YouTube calls for AI videos to be labeled

New policy seeks to bring transparency for viewers

ASBURY PARK, N.J. – Have you recently been shocked by videos of a burning Eiffel Tower or a far-fetched fight between two celebrities you wouldn’t expect?

You can’t tell if they’re real or not. Then you check the news and realize it was all artificial intelligence, or AI.

Fake AI-generated content often goes viral. Sometimes it’s entertaining.

Other times it’s confusing, misleading and even offensive.

And YouTube is responding to it. This week, the video platform implemented a new policy requiring all content creators to disclose the use of AI in their video posts. Videos that were generated or altered via AI will display a label saying “Altered or synthetic content.”

The move seeks to bring more transparency so that viewers know whether they are seeing something real or made up, the company said in a statement announcing the new policy.

YouTube’s new policy concerns AIgenerated content that could pass as real.

“Clearly unrealistic content, such as animation or someone riding a unicorn through a fantastical world” won’t require disclosure of AI use, the company said.

YouTube may proactively apply the label on videos that use AI without disclosing it. Creators who consistently fail to disclose the use of AI may be subject to penalties, including removal of content or suspension, the company said.

The new rule on AI content comes months after the Google-owned company announced in November 2023 that it would be letting users take down AI content impersonating them.

What type of YouTube content requires AI label?

Creators must disclose content that has been fully or partially altered and:

Makes a real person appear to say or do something they didn’t do.

Alters footage of a real event or place.

Generates a realistic-looking scenario that didn’t actually occur.