YouTube wipes out thousands of propaganda channels linked to China, Russia, others

Google announced Monday the removal of nearly 11,000 YouTube channels and other accounts tied to state-linked propaganda campaigns from China, Russia and more in the second quarter.

The takedown included more than 7,700 YouTube channels linked to China.

These campaigns primarily shared content in Chinese and English that promoted the People's Republic of China, supported President Xi Jinping and commented on U.S. foreign affairs.

Over 2,000 removed channels were linked to Russia. The content was in multiple languages that supported Russia and criticized Ukraine, NATO and the West.

Google, in May, removed 20 YouTube channels, 4 Ads accounts, and 1 Blogger blog linked to RT, the Russian state-controlled media outlet accused of paying prominent conservative influencers for social media content ahead of the 2024 election.

Tim Pool, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson — all staunch supporters of President Donald Trump — made content for Tenent Media, the Tennessee company described in the indictment, according to NBC News.

YouTube began blocking RT channels in March 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The active removal of accounts is part of the Google Threat Analysis Group's work to counter global disinformation campaigns and "coordinated influence" operations.

Google's second quarter report also outlined the removal of influence campaigns linked to Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Israel, Romania and Ghana that were found to be targeting political rivals.

Some campaigns centered on growing geopolitical conflicts, including narratives on both sides of the Israel-Palestine War.

YouTube declined to provide further comment on the removal.

Google took down more than 23,000 accounts in the first quarter.

Meta announced last week it removed about 10 million profiles for impersonating large content producers through the first half of 2025 as part of an effort by the company to combat "spammy content."