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📺 YouTube will show reposted Shorts to fewer people
Welcome back to TWISM!
"Re-uploaded from other creators without adding anything of your own." That's how YouTube describes the Shorts it plans to show to fewer people. If you post other creators' clips, that includes yours (TeamYouTube).
On Oct 1, YouTube said its Shorts recommendations will favor original content and show less of what's re-uploaded from other creators.
Instagram and Facebook already made similar changes. Meta says views and watch time of original Reels on Facebook roughly doubled in the second half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024 (Meta).
Here's what counts as yours, how to use someone else's clip the allowed way, and where you already stand on Instagram and Facebook. 👇
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🎬 What YouTube changed, and what it didn't say
YouTube says channels that mostly re-upload or collect other creators' videos without significant changes will likely get less distribution in the Shorts feed, the vertical feed people swipe through (TeamYouTube).
What doesn't count as yours: Rene Ritchie, YouTube's Creator Liaison, spelled out what falls short the same day. A voiceover that only describes what's on screen doesn't count. Neither do minor technical edits or template-based bulk changes, like one template applied to many clips at once (Search Engine Journal).
What does: YouTube's post asks you to add "real value through your own original commentary, unique edits, or storytelling," and to focus on "bringing your own voice."
💸 The money rule that already applies: YouTube's monetization rules already don't count Shorts views from re-uploads of other creators' content or from compilations that add nothing original. Those views get no share of Shorts ad revenue (YouTube Help: Shorts monetization). The reused-content policy also covers the whole channel, so if some of your videos break it, YouTube can remove monetization from all of them (YouTube Help: Channel monetization). That rule predates Oct 1. Since Oct 1, re-uploads can also cost you reach.
What YouTube didn't say: There's no start date, no line for how much change is enough, and no place in YouTube Studio to see whether your reach was cut. Ritchie did say a channel that shifts from re-uploading to original content gets its reach re-evaluated, but he didn't say how long that takes (Search Engine Journal).
Your own clips: The rule targets other creators' videos, and YouTube hasn't addressed Shorts cut from your own long videos. The closest data point is a case study from OpusClip, which makes clipping software. A sports channel with 500K subscribers cut clips from 800+ of its own long episodes into Shorts on a new channel. It reached 1.5M monthly views within 90 days and earned $6,563.78 in ad revenue (OpusClip).
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🔁 How to use someone else's clip the allowed way
YouTube gives you 2 built-in ways to use another creator's video, and both keep the credit with them.
Remix it inside YouTube. On a Short, tap Remix → Cut this video. On a long video in the app, tap Share → Remix → Cut. Green screen (their video behind you), Collab (your Short next to theirs) and Sound (only their audio) sit in the same menu. The Shorts player credits and links the original video (YouTube Help: Remix).
Share their video in a Post. Tap Create → Create post → choose video, then search for the video or paste its URL and tap Post. People who tap it watch the original upload, which is the route Ritchie pointed creators to. Channels get a limited number of posts per 24 hours, so save them for clips worth sending people to (YouTube Help: Create posts).
Add your own take on top. If you want the clip inside your own Short, YouTube's monetization policy names three uses it allows. You can review the clip critically, react while commenting on the original, or edit the footage into your own storyline with commentary. Each adds something the original didn't have, which is what the rules ask for.
⚠️ What permission doesn't fix: Short videos compiled from other social sites don't qualify, and neither does promoting other people's content. YouTube's policy says that holds even with the creator's permission (YouTube Help: Channel monetization).
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📱 Instagram and Facebook already work this way
If you post the same clips to Reels, these rules are already live there.
Instagram says 75% of recommendations in the US now come from original posts. Accounts that mostly post unoriginal content lose eligibility for recommendations. They get it back once most of their posts from the past 30 days count as original. Framing the clip, adding your logo or crediting the creator in the caption doesn't make a repost original. Your followers still see your posts as before (Instagram).
🔍 Check your standing on Instagram. Open Settings → Account Status. If your account is limited, you can remove the flagged content or appeal from there.
Meta's March post lists what counts as unoriginal on Facebook: watching along, reacting with facial expressions, or stitching clips together. Narration that adds nothing counts too. So do "low-value changes to someone else's content like adding borders, inserting captions, and changing the reel's speed." Accounts that keep posting mostly unoriginal content can lose recommendations and monetization, and creators can appeal (Meta).
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✅ What to do this week
Go through your last month of Shorts. Sort them into three piles: your own footage, clips cut from your own videos, and clips from other creators. YouTube looks at what your channel mostly posts and Instagram looks at a rolling 30 days. The bigger the third pile, the more likely your account counts as a re-uploader.
Stop re-uploading other creators' clips as-is. Those are the posts all three platforms now show to fewer people, and on YouTube their views already earn no Shorts ad revenue.
Rebuild the ones worth keeping. On YouTube, Remix the clip or share it in a Post. On Instagram, use a collab, a remix, a Story share or a repost. All of them keep the credit with the creator. If the clip goes inside a new video, add your own commentary, because that's the part the platforms count as original.
Check Account Status on Instagram today. YouTube hasn't said where to look, so this is the only check you can run.
My read: I'd put the time into Shorts that only exist because you filmed, said or cut something yourself. That's the content all three platforms now say they'll show to more people.
☝️ The one-sentence version
YouTube will show re-uploaded Shorts to fewer people, so post clips you made yourself and run anyone else's through Remix or a Post, the same approach Instagram and Facebook already reward.
Send me a number: how many of your Shorts last month used someone else's clip?
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📚 Sources
That's all for today. Thanks for reading. Now…
Go BIG or go home!
~ Josh from "This Week in Social Media"
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