YouTube limited the ads available to run on a video about a missing Chinese tennis star on Friday.
The video, titled “Chinese Star VANISHES After Rape Accusation I Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar” and appearing on the Breaking Points channel, was flagged early Friday, according to a tweet from the channel’s host Saagar Enjeti.
Enjeti posted a screenshot of an email purportedly from YouTube to the Breaking Points channel informing him that the video “isn’t suitable for all advertisers” and may not be eligible to run ads. (RELATED: YouTube Expands Crackdown On Vaccine Misinformation, Targets Specific Accounts)
Sorry @YouTube. We meant to say Peng Shaui is safe and sound and just can’t wait for the Olympics in China which ofc is the best country in the world!
For real though this is why @krystalball and I built Breaking Points as subscription first: https://t.co/d9o4c2Nbnc pic.twitter.com/0g8oRYeZe5
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) November 19, 2021
The video concerned Peng Shuai, a female tennis player in the Women’s Tennis Association who is reportedly missing after she accused former vice premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault in a Nov. 2 Weibo post. Following Peng’s post, Chinese authorities attempted to remove all traces of the post from the internet, CNN reported.
“Sorry @YouTube. We meant to say Peng Shaui is safe and sound and just can’t wait for the Olympics in China which ofc is the best country in the world!” Enjeti tweeted as a caption to the screenshot.
When reached for comment, a YouTube spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the video was never demonetized, only that its ads had been limited.
“We routinely limit ads from running on sensitive content, including topics such as sexual abuse,” the spokesperson said. “It is up to the advertiser to decide if they want their ads to run on this type of content. These policies are clear in our Advertiser-friendly content guidelines and we enforce them consistently regardless of the channel.”
According to Google’s advertiser-friendly content guidelines for YouTube Partners, content about “sensitive events” or “controversial issues” can be grounds for a video being placed in a “limited or no ads monetization state.” It’s not clear which guideline the Breaking Points video violated.
YouTube was previously found to be removing comments containing certain phrases insulting to the Chinese Communist Party.
Editor’s note: This piece has been updated to reflect additional information from YouTube.
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