YouTube announces changes to its verification badge and updates its verification program with the objective of protecting creators and artists from impersonators. YouTube receives thousands of complaints from creators regarding impersonation, some of which are even come with a verification badge. YouTube wants to straighten up this issue to restore the true essence of the verification badge which is to indicate a channel’s identity.

Verification Program Requirements

Just like in the previous requirements, the updated verification program will still require 100,000 subscribers for creators to apply. Hence, YouTube will be re-evaluating verified channels to determine those that try to impersonate other creators and apply additional actions. YouTube improved the process and will verify channels that are:

Authentic:
Your channel must represent the real creator, brand, or entity you’re claiming to be. We’ll look at a variety of factors to help verify your identity, and may also ask for additional info or documentation.

Complete:
Your channel must be public and have a description, channel icon, and content, and be active on YouTube.

New Look

Due to the changes, YouTube will be rolling out a new badge for verified channels next year. For YouTube, it’s important that they know the channel they are watching is the official presence of the creator, artist, public figure or company that it represents. YouTube research says the checkmark on verified creators tends to imply ‘endorsement of content’ and not identity. YouTube’s new look on verified creators will help distinguish official channels of creators, celebrities, or brands it represents.

New Eligibility Requirements

YouTube’s current eligibility requirements, channels with more than 100,000 subscribers can be verified regardless of the need for proof of authenticity. However, YouTube’s growing environment and evolving ecosystem demand a new way of verifying the identity of channels. YouTube’s new criteria prioritize verifying prominent channels that have a clear need for proof of authenticity. See criteria below:

Authenticity:
Does this channel belong to the real creator, artist, public figure or company it claims to represent?

Prominence:
Does this channel represent a well-known or highly searched creator, artist, public figure or company? Is this channel widely recognized outside of YouTube and have a strong presence online? Is this a popular channel that has a very similar name to many other channels?

The new criteria will apply to all channels. Channels that meet the new requirements no longer need to apply; we will automatically apply the new verified treatment.

Source: YouTube Creators Blog