YouTube Heroes Program Hopes to Make Site Safer

YouTube introduces its Heroes program to help make the platform a safer place

By Lulu Chang September 23, 2016

youtube heroes program screen shot 2016 09 23 at 11 51 56 am — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The heroes of our physical world make the planet a better place and the heroes of YouTube are tasked with a similar responsibility.

While YouTube may be a destination for funny clips and cat videos, it is also home to troublesome content, both in terms of footage and comments. But now, the Google-owned company is enlisting the help of a special task force of volunteers who will “help make YouTube a better experience for everyone.” It is called YouTube Heroes and it is an extension of the Trusted Flagger program that was introduced in 2012.

The original program provided “tools for people or organizations who are particularly interested in and effective at notifying us of content that violates our Community Guidelines.” It has proven to be wildly successful, with YouTube noting that these flaggers’ reports of inappropriate content tends to be accurate 90 percent of the time. “This is three times more accurate than the average flagger,” the company said.

Now, YouTube is going a step further and giving certain power users a special title — Hero. These individuals will be able to add captions & subtitles to videos, report videos that violate our community guidelines, or share their knowledge with others in help forums, YouTube wrote in a blog post.

The video platform has already invited “a select group of contributors from across the globe who have histories of high quality community contributions,” but even if you were not included, you can apply here. YouTube says that it will “gradually admit other top contributors into the program.”

But what is in it for you? Being a Hero, apparently, has its perks. “YouTube Heroes will have access to a dedicated YouTube Heroes community site that is separate from the main YouTube site, where participants can learn from one another,” the company said. “Through the program, participants will be able to earn points and unlock rewards to help them reach the next level.”

So if you are already spending tons of time on YouTube and want to help make it a better place, consider adopting the title of Hero. It’s not a bad thing to have on your résumé.

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