In an effort to combat propoganda, Google announced this week it had taken down nearly 11,000 YouTube channels and accounts linked to state-sponsored disinformation campaigns linked to China and Russia.
The termination of thousands of channels is part of Google’s ongoing efforts to counter global propaganda, and was carried out by its Threat Analysis Group (TAG) during the second quarter of 2025.
The channels and accounts removed were primarily involved in spreading content that promoted the People’s Republic of China, supported President Xi Jinping, and offered commentary on U.S. foreign affairs. The influence campaigns were posted in both Chinese and English, and sought to warp public opinion and promote pro-China narratives. More than 7,700 of the removed channels were linked to China, making it the largest source of the disinformation campaigns targeted in this quarter.
In addition to the Chinese-linked channels, over 2,000 YouTube channels associated with Russian propaganda were also removed. The channels offered content in multiple languages that supported Russia, criticized Ukraine, NATO, and Western nations.
Google’s actions are part of a broader company strategy to address the growing threat of disinformation and coordinated influence operations. Google has been actively monitoring and dismantling such campaigns across multiple platforms, including YouTube, Google Ads, AdSense, Blogger, and Google News. In addition to the nearly 11,000 YouTube channels removed in the second quarter, Google had previously eliminated over 23,000 accounts involved in similar activities during the first three months of 2025.
“The findings from the most recent update are in line with our expectations of this regular and ongoing work,” a spokesperson for YouTube said in a statement.
TAG’s most recent report also announced the cancelation of YouTube channels linked to Turkey, Romania, Iran, Ghana, Azerbaijan, and Israel. The Israel channels were removed due to “sharing content in English, French, German, Italian, and Greek that was supportive of Israel and critical of Palestine.”
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