Google crackdown: Google removes 11,000 YouTube Channel linked discrimination.
New Delhi: In a major step against global Discrimination, Google has removed close to 11,000 YouTube channels and related accounts in the second quarter of 2025. The major operations take down targeted operations tied to state-linked propaganda networks, with China and Russia accounting for the bulk of the activity.
Google removed over 7,700 YouTube channels which were traced to China. These accounts were primarily posting in Chinese and English, promoting the Chinese government and praising President Xi Jinping.
Furthermore, 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.
This operation is led by TAG (Threat Analysis Group), which is tasked with monitoring and neutralizing coordinated influence operations across Google.
A YouTube spokesperson commented on the ongoing operation 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.
This operation is not only limited to China and Russia. 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.
Further, 457 channels connected to Azerbaijan propagated 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.
This operation is not only 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, signalling an alarming surge in the scale and coordination of global influence campaigns.
(Subham Singh)
