I was demonetized in early March 2019 for Reused Content. I've been a full time YouTuber for the past 4 years so I was confident I was hit with a false flag.

There's a lot of bad information out there about Reused Content. People think it has something to do with copyright.. (it doesn't).

I create all my own content and a single video can take 100+ hours of editing. I also hire voice artists, musicians, I write scripts and use heavy effects work to create original movie trailers for fictional films.

After getting flagged for Reused Content I immediately contacted YouTube support and asked for a review of my channel.

Two days later I heard back that I was unsuccessful and I had to wait 30 days to reapply.

Over the next 30 days I created a new series where I spoke to the camera about my editing work. This new series had two purposes. One was to explain the creative process to YouTube, and secondly it was to put a face to my channel.

After 30 days I reapplied and two days later.... denied again. I knew there was something I was doing wrong if my content kept getting mistakenly flagged.

I then went back and really focused on my channels first impression. I also found the sticky on YouTube's help forum incredibly helpful


Knowing that a real person was going to review my channel I set out to REALLY show what I do straight from the start.

1) I updated my About section to clearly explain my channel and how I create my videos.

2) I updated my Cover photo to clearly state my channels purpose.

3) My profile photo was always reflective of the effort I put in so I didn't bother changing that.

4) I filmed a new intro video where I spoke to the camera and clearly explained how I edit my videos (highlighting how much work I put in).

5) I then went back and rewrote the descriptions for all my videos, again highlighting the work involved and the purpose of the video.

After these steps I made a video asking my subs to tweet @TeamYouTube to try and help them see I'd been falsely flagged.

TeamYouTube replied, informed me I could get a secondary review and then 6 hours later my channel was monetized again!

The key takeaway from this is you NEED to really show YouTube you put in effort and do it instantly. You can't rely on YouTube understanding the purpose of your channel, or really digging deep to discover what you do. You have to serve it up quick, easy, and clearly.

If you're also going through this same process then leave a comment and I'll take a look at your channel. Maybe I can offer some pointers (or give you a fresh perspective).

If anyone out there has reached this part of the description (and you're still reading), leave a comment telling me you read to the end.

Thanks guys!