Google has removed nearly 11,000 YouTube channels tied to state-run propaganda campaigns for China, Russia, and other nations over the last few months.
This move was part of the work done by the Google Threat Analysis Group to counter disinformation campaigns.
More than 7,700 of the channels and other assets removed in the second quarter were linked to China, and the campaigns primarily shared content supporting the Chinese Communist Party in Chinese and English.
The channels frequently commented on U.S. foreign affairs and supported Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Of the remaining channels, more than 2,000 were linked to Russia or Russian entities and shared content in multiple languages. The channels supported Russia and criticized Ukraine, NATO, and other Western countries.
In the month of May alone, the company removed 20 YouTube channels, four Ad accounts, and one Blogger blog that was linked to Russian state-controlled media RT.
This is more than three years after YouTube’s March 2022 decision to block RT channels from its platform following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Other channels removed from the platform were part of campaigns linked to Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Israel, Romania, and Ghana.
As concern about adversarial nations grows, other measures have been taken, including by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).
Microsoft announced on July 18 that it would stop using China-based engineers for technical support for the DOD’s cloud system. Microsoft Chief Communications Officer Frank Shaw said the company made the change to ensure that “no China-based engineering teams” were involved in maintaining the Pentagon’s cloud system.
Also in July, Utah’s Gov. Spencer Cox announced that a Chinese-owned company has been blocked from purchasing land near an airport due to a law banning land ownership by entities categorized as adversarial.
