Impersonation policy

The line YouTube draws is deception. Copying another channel's branding, handle, avatar or colour scheme falls under it, and the policy says plainly that the copy need not be identical as long as the intent to imitate is clear. Swapping a character in a handle for a lookalike, or bolting Real, Official or Backup onto somebody else's name, is called out directly. So is using AI to reproduce a person's voice or face in a way that suggests they run the channel or approved it.

Channels set up to impersonate get removed. Fan channels remain fine on one condition, which is that the name or the handle states clearly that is what they are.