• by Alex Weprin , July 2, 2018

In a statement released on the last day of June (Pride Month), YouTube said it had "iet the LGBTQ community down” in the way it handled certain controversies during the month-long celebration.

Early in June, some LGBTQ creators noticed that anti-LGBTQ ads were appearing alongside their videos. 

In addition, videos from LGBTQ creators were often tagged by the system as inappropriate, even if the subject matter was innocuous, resulting in many videos from these creators not being eligible for monetization.

YouTube acknowledged those issues and pledged to make improvements. “We're sorry and we want to do better,” its statement read.

“We’ve taken action on the ads that violate our policies, and we are tightening our enforcement," it added. "And when we hear concerns about how we’re implementing our monetization policy, we take them seriously and make improvements if needed.”

The LGTBQ controversy highlights the tightrope YouTube is walking as it balances the needs of its robust community of creators with the increasingly stringent requirements of advertisers seeking the safest-possible home for their ads.