Someone reuploaded your YouTube video to Facebook: remove it, or earn from it

Updated 24.09.2026 · Kostas Obuchow

YouTube cannot act on Facebook, so a stolen copy has to be handled with Meta's own tools: the copyright report form, content protection in the Professional dashboard, or Rights Manager, which can also claim the copy's earnings. Why you should deal with the copy before uploading your original, and what each route requires.

Short answer

YouTube cannot remove a copy on Facebook. It has to be done with Meta’s tools, and there are three:

1. the copyright report form: for one or several copies, available to anyone who owns the rights;
2. content protection in the Professional dashboard: automatic search for copies of your reels;
3. Rights Manager: for owners of a catalogue; it can block copies or claim the money they earn.

And one thing people do not expect: a stolen copy can make your own original look like a duplicate. Deal with the copy before you upload your video to Facebook.

Why the copy matters more than you think

Facebook’s originality rules protect whoever publishes first. Duplication, per Meta, is posting what “already exists on Facebook… with no meaningful role in creating it”.

If a reuploader posted your video before you, then to a system comparing videos your upload is the second copy. Meta does not describe how it tells the author from the copier in that case. That is why the order matters: first the copy, then your original. More in how Facebook detects unoriginal content.

Route 1: the copyright report

Meta’s copyright form is at facebook.com/help/contact/copyrightform (it now opens in Meta’s help centre).

• Who can file: “Only the copyright owner or their authorized representative may file a report.”
• What you usually need: a link to your original work (your YouTube video will do), the link to the copy on Facebook, your contact details, and statements that the report is made in good faith.
• Worth knowing: Meta may pass your name and email to the person you report.

Suitable when there are a few copies. For dozens, it is slow.

Route 2: content protection

Meta launched content protection for creators in November 2025. It automatically finds copies of your reels on Facebook and Instagram and lets you track, block or release each match.

• Where: Professional dashboard → Content → Content protection.
• Who has it: creators in Content Monetization who meet enhanced integrity and originality standards, and Rights Manager users. Anyone else can apply through the Rights Manager application form.
• What it covers: your reels on Facebook, including those shared from Instagram.

The limit: it protects what you have already published on Facebook. If your video exists only on YouTube, content protection has nothing to compare with.

Route 3: Rights Manager, and the copy’s money

Rights Manager is Meta’s copyright tool for owners of a catalogue. You upload your videos as reference files, even if they are not published on Facebook, and Meta looks for copies.

For each match you choose: block, monitor, or Monetize, where the copy stays up and its earnings go to you, if the copy is published by a page in Content Monetization and meets Meta’s policies.

Access is by application, and Meta checks that you post mostly original content and hold exclusive rights. Full breakdown in Rights Manager.

The order of steps

1. Find the copies: search Facebook by the video’s title and key frames, ask your audience.
2. Record them: links and screenshots with dates.
3. Report or claim: the form for a few copies, Rights Manager or content protection for many.
4. Only then upload your originals to Facebook, as files, without other platforms’ watermarks. More in the YouTube-to-Facebook breakdown.
5. Turn on protection for what you publish, so the next copies are caught automatically.