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In the first six months of 2025, YouTube took down more than 30,000 channels linked to influence efforts by foreign actors, according to a report from Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG). The majority were connected to operations originating in Russia and China, but included some anti-Israel content.
The latest figures show a 45% increase in removals year-over-year, with nearly 10,000 Russian and Chinese channels terminated in the second quarter alone. These removals are part of a broader effort to address state-backed manipulation campaigns that use digital platforms to shape public narratives.
In operations attributed to Russia, removed content largely centered on criticism of Ukraine, NATO, and the West, while promoting pro-Kremlin viewpoints. Many of the affected accounts were distributing materials focused on political, social, and cultural issues in Eastern Europe. TAG noted that 6,422 Russia-linked channels were taken offline so far this year—a 56% rise over the first half of 2024.
Chinese-linked campaigns represented an even larger portion of enforcement actions. YouTube removed over 23,000 accounts believed to be part of a coordinated operation posting content in both Chinese and English. These networks regularly comment on international affairs, particularly those involving China and the United States.
In addition to Russia and China, Google disrupted smaller-scale influence efforts from other countries. This included Several Iranian-linked channels promoting Arabic-language messaging in support of Palestinian causes and critical of Israel. Networks tied to Azerbaijani narratives targeting Armenia, Turkish channels affiliated with the Victory Party, and Romanian political content were also taken down.
Google has extended enforcement beyond YouTube, disabling related AdSense and Blogger accounts and restricting some domains from appearing in its news surfaces.
The removals highlight the increasing sophistication and scale of digital influence efforts and the challenge platforms face in keeping political and geopolitical manipulation in check.
