Mar 11, 2026 10:40:00

YouTube launches tool to detect 'AI-based fake videos impersonating politicians'

As part of its AI-based countermeasure against fake videos, YouTube is providing creators participating in

the YouTube Partner Program with a feature to detect videos that feature faces similar to their own. On March 10, 2026, the company announced that it would also expand the feature to politicians and journalists.

Expanding likeness detection to civic leaders and journalists - YouTube Blog
https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/expanding-likeness-detection-civic-leaders-journalists/

Expanding YouTube's Likeness Detection to Civic Leaders and Journalists - YouTube


YouTube Partner Program members can enable the similar video detection feature from the 'Similarity' tab in the 'Content Discovery' menu in YouTube Studio. It has been announced that this feature will also be available to politicians, government officials, and journalists.

To enable the similar video detection feature, you will need to upload your ID.

Additionally, you will need to take a photo of your face to verify your identity, and ID and facial scan data will only be used to verify your identity and improve detection capabilities, not to train the AI.

By enabling the similar video detection feature, you can view a list of videos that contain faces that resemble yours that have been posted on YouTube. On this screen, you can see the posting date and number of views for each video, and you can also request YouTube to remove the video.

If you request the removal of a video, YouTube will consider whether to remove it. However, YouTube emphasizes 'freedom of expression and content protection in the public interest,' and believes that 'parody and satire content are protected, even if it criticizes world leaders or influential figures.' Therefore, even if you submit a removal request, it is not guaranteed that the video will be removed.