YouTube Blocks Christian Film 'Chased' over Alleged Violation of Community Standards

YouTube has removed the Christian film "Chased" from its website after the video-sharing platform said the "inappropriate" movie violated their community standards.

"Chased" tells the story of Christians being persecuted in the Middle East, but some scenes show Bible verses being read. The film's producers are now asking why the short film was taken down by YouTube despite its absence of nudity, violence, and profanity, according to The Blaze.

The movie shows how the family of a young Christian girl named Anneliese, is being persecuted because of their faith. The story shows viewers what Christians in the U.S. would go through if they were persecuted like their counterparts in the Middle East, the Christian Post reports.

In an interview with The Blaze, "Chased" director Josh Troester recounted how he first uploaded the 33-minute film onto his group's YouTube channel on Feb. 11 as a "private" video. The following day, he changed the film's status to "unlisted" to allow people who have the direct link to watch it even though it cannot be found in searches, the report relays.

Troester said YouTube flagged his movie over "inappropriate content" mere minutes after the change. The notification he received explained that "Chased" violates the site's Community Guidelines, the report details.

After reading YouTube's Community Guidelines, Troester said the movie did not violate any of YouTube's policies, so he appealed the process, assuming a mistake has been made. However, YouTube responded and informed him that they are upholding the decision to ban "Chased" from the video-sharing site.

"We are trying to get an answer as to why YouTube banned our short faith-based film, but all they will say is that it violates community standards," the movie's writer Emily Weaver told The Blaze. "It seems that shadowbanning ... is alive and well on YouTube as well, at least in our experience."

"Chased" producers are not the only ones who had the same experience. Other groups who help expose the violence in the Middle East, such as Palestinian Media Watch and the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) have also had some of their videos or channels shut taken down by YouTube.