The world's most popular video sharing platform, YouTube, is "shining light" on Russian propaganda. It announced on its Twitter account that it would remove any content "denying or trivializing well-documented violent events" such as the war in Ukraine. The platform specified that banned content could include videos featuring victims of the Ukrainian war as actors, a ploy Russia has repeatedly used to smear Ukrainian soldiers.
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The video platform, visited by 2 billion people a month, will ban any videos that present the Russian invasion as a simple military operation against terrorist groups. It says it has already removed over a thousand channels and more than 15 videos that violate its policies on incitement to violence or misinformation.
YouTube targeted the Kremlin's propaganda already at the beginning of March, when it blocked the media channels of the RT (Russia Today) and Sputnik television networks in Europe. As Russia's crackdown on Ukraine continues, the platform has decided to go even further, banning all Russian-funded channels globally. In addition, the platform announced that it has blocked all monetization methods for Russian creators. They can no longer earn money with their videos. YouTube has also suspended all advertising in Russia.
