Google Cracks Down on 11,000 YouTube Channels Linked to Global Disinformation Networks

Hans India

20 hours ago

In a major step against global disinformation, Google has removed close to 11,000 YouTube channels and related accounts in the second quarter of 2025. The takedowns targeted influence operations tied to state-linked propaganda networks, with China and Russia accounting for the bulk of the activity.
According to a blog post by Google and reporting by CNBC, over 7,700 of the removed YouTube channels were traced to China. These channels were primarily posting in Chinese and English, promoting the Chinese government, praising President Xi Jinping, and commenting on U.S. foreign policy in a favorable light.
Russia was also a key focus. More than 2,000 YouTube channels connected to Russian operations were terminated for spreading multilingual content that supported Russia's geopolitical stance and criticized Ukraine, NATO, and Western countries. Many of these were found to be affiliated with state-backed media and consulting outfits.
The effort is part of the ongoing mission led by Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG), which is tasked with monitoring and neutralizing coordinated influence operations across Google platforms.
A YouTube spokesperson commented that 'the latest findings are in line with the company's expectations for this regular and ongoing work,' emphasizing that such investigations are routine and form part of their broader defense strategy.
Earlier in May, Google had also taken down a smaller cluster of accounts—20 YouTube channels, four advertising profiles, and one Blogger blog—linked to Russia Today (RT), the state-run broadcaster. RT has faced prior allegations of paying social media influencers to shape public sentiment ahead of the 2024 elections. YouTube had already blocked RT's main channels following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
But China and Russia weren't the only countries flagged. Google also took down state-linked influence campaigns from Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Israel, Romania, and Ghana. These included content targeting political opponents and commenting on contentious regional issues, such as the Israel-Palestine conflict and internal elections.
One such example included 457 channels connected to Azerbaijan, which pushed pro-Azeri messaging while attacking Armenia and domestic opposition. In the case of Iran, the removed content often supported Tehran and Palestine while portraying the U.S., Israel, and Western nations in a negative light.
The disinformation campaign wasn't limited to YouTube alone. Google confirmed that the removals spanned Ads, AdSense, Blogger, and Google News, with several domains being blocked from appearing in both Google News and Discover due to their misleading content.
In the first quarter of 2025 alone, Google had removed more than 23,000 accounts. With the second quarter's actions, the total takedowns for the year now exceed 30,000 accounts, signaling an alarming surge in the scale and coordination of global influence campaigns.
Separately, Meta has also been actively working to tackle digital manipulation. The company recently disclosed that it had removed 10 million fake profiles, many of which were impersonating high-profile content creators. These actions are part of Meta's broader strategy to cut down on spam and misleading content.
As the information war intensifies online, tech giants like Google and Meta are doubling down on their efforts to detect and dismantle orchestrated propaganda efforts before they mislead users or undermine democratic discourse.