Generative AI is transforming the ways content is created. Due to the enhancements, creators can develop videos that seem real but are not. However, YouTube believes that “viewers increasingly want more transparency” about whether the content they’re seeing is altered or synthetic.
For this reason, YouTube is introducing a new transparency tool in YouTube Studio. Starting today, as creators upload videos, they’ll be asked to disclose if any significant alterations or synthetic generation techniques were used. Examples:
- Swapping faces with realistic digital versions
- Using a synthetic voice for narration
- Making real footage appear to show a dramatic event (like a fire)
- Creating entirely fictional scenes (like a tornado in a real town)
Don’t worry, this doesn’t apply to everyday editing tricks or creative flourishes like:
- Cartoon unicorns taking flight (because, of course!)
- Upscaling video resolution
- Enhancing audio quality
- Applying beauty filters (go for that glow!)
This new disclosure feature is currently available on YouTube Studio for web, and it’s coming soon to the mobile app as well.
So, how will viewers see these disclosures? As announced in November 2023, they’ll appear as labels in the video description. This will be for majority of videos uploaded.
However, for content related to sensitive topics like health, news, elections, or finance, the disclosures will be even more prominent – popping up directly on the video player itself.
Viewers on phones and tablets will be the first to see these labels, with desktop and TV viewers getting them soon after.
Take note! YouTube may even add its own labels to some videos where creators haven’t disclosed alterations. This is “especially if the altered or synthetic content has the potential to confuse or mislead people.”
“And while we want to give our community time to adjust to the new process and features, in the future we’ll look at enforcement measures for creators who consistently choose not to disclose this information“, writes YouTube liaison on his X.
YouTube wants creators to use AI responsibly.
