YouTube plagued with Chinese and Russian propaganda channels, Google taking action

Google has taken down hundreds of YouTube channels suspected of coordinated influence operations.

Google has been on a mission to terminate YouTube channels and accounts that engage in what Google defines as influence campaigns, usually promoting anti-Western narratives.

In April, the majority of terminated accounts were related to Chinese-origin information campaigns.

Google said it terminated over 1,300 YouTube channels and nearly 1,200 Blogger blogs for inauthentic content about China and US foreign affairs. The company didn’t go into specific details of the narratives they were spreading, but it said the conclusions were consistent with its previous findings.

The firm also put an end to coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. An unnamed consulting firm was sharing anti-West, anti-Ukrainian, and pro-Russian content via nearly 380 channels that are now terminated.

Google also took down 11 YouTube channels linked to various individuals in Russia. The channels were used to spread content supporting Russian actions in Ukraine.

Further channels, now terminated, were also spreading false information about Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, and France.