YouTube ad income when some forbidden content slips through

A question from a YouTube creator who earns from ads and filters them, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that the ruling follows whether forbidden ads predominate or are rare. ¹

The questioner said he posts videos on YouTube and earns by allowing ads, filtering them to block pornographic and immoral material, though some forbidden content may still appear incidentally; he asked whether his earnings are lawful. ¹

The Department answered that Islam forbids anything that directly aids what is forbidden, and promoting a forbidden ad is such aid, so the creator must filter the ads and remove forbidden ones. ¹ It said that if he cannot control the removal of forbidden ads, or they appear predominantly despite filtering, earning from them is forbidden, since the ruling follows what predominates. ¹ If they appear only rarely after filtering, or the forbidden element is incidental, such as images in ads for lawful products, it held that this is at the least doubtful and better avoided, and advised giving part of the earnings in charity to clear one's account. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 3804, dated 18 September 2023. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.