YouTube Launches Heroes Program

YouTube recently rolled out its Heroes Program that offers incentives for users to report videos that violate the site’s guidelines. The scheme also enables users to earn points for taking actions that benefit the community, such as adding subtitles to a video and sharing knowledge with the Heroes community. Participants in the scheme are granted access to a specific dashboard through which these actions are taken.

The YouTube Heroes Program is essentially a reward scheme that comprises different levels and users earn points depending on how actively they contribute to the program. Each point takes them towards unlocking the next level which earns them certain perks. There are altogether five levels and on level three participants are granted a tool which enables them to mass flag abusive videos.

YouTube Heroes is not the only tool in YouTube’s volunteer-based arsenal for keeping the site clean of abusive videos: YouTube also maintains an invitation-only scheme called the YouTube Trusted Flagger Program whereby certain users are provided advanced flagging tools to report content which is against YouTube’s Community Guidelines.

BrandBastion sees the YouTube Heroes Program as yet another sign that the amount of harmful content spreading across social networks is increasing. Social media platforms need to get creative to fight against inappropriate content such as scams, spam and malware, sexual or hateful content, violence as well as misuse of intellectual property.

However, relying on the community or the platform to protect companies' intellectual property rights is often not enough. This is why many companies are taking their intellectual property rights protection on social media into their own hands by working with companies such as for example BrandBastion to ensure efficient identification, assessment and take-down of harmful infringements.

Learn more about how BrandBastion can help you protect your brand on social media, 24/7.