Doctored or old footage presented as real or current
YouTube may take the video down.
Last verified
What triggers it
Technically manipulated or doctored content that misleads and risks serious harm, or old footage falsely presented as a current event, or inflammatory mistranslations.
What YouTube says
“Content that may pose a serious risk of egregious harm by falsely claiming that old footage from a past event is from a current event.”
We last checked this against YouTube's page on .
How to fix it
Label archive footage with its date on screen, and don't present edited or AI clips of real events as real.
Good to know
Look for news-style claims ('happening now') over footage that looks older or from elsewhere, and edited clips of real events presented as real. File creation dates can hint at recycled footage.
Can FYProof spot it?
A full check of your video looks for it in what's shown, what's said and the caption. What a check finds is an estimate, not a guarantee.
- Video: looked at for this rule
- Speech: looked at for this rule
- On-screen text: not for this rule
- Caption: looked at for this rule
- Hashtags: not for this rule
It doesn't read details stored inside the file, such as labels an editing app adds.
Related YouTube rules
Platforms change their rules often. This page sums up what YouTube publishes; it isn't legal advice.