Google seems to be on a cleaning spree. It has removed thousands of YouTube channels in the last month. Along with that, it has removed one AdSense account and three Blogger blogs. This is a part of the ongoing investigation of Google into ‘coordinated influenced operations’ connected to China.
Company speaks
The Blogger blogs and YouTube channels were filled with spammy content in Chinese about entertainment, music, and lifestyle mostly. Google said, “A very small subset uploaded content in Chinese and English about China and US foreign affairs.”
Google further added, “We terminated 1 AdSense account and blocked 1 domain from eligibility to appear on Google News surfaces as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to China.”
Reasons
Google also removed three YouTube channels for sharing sensational content in Chinese about the war in Ukraine and relations between Taiwan and mainland China.
Effects
The company removed 515 YouTube channels as part of its ‘investigation into coordinated influence operations’ connected to Azerbaijan. It also terminated 57 YouTube channels in Brazil.
YouTube took down more than 1.7 million videos in India as per its Q3 report for violating its Community Guidelines. Globally it removed over 5.6 million videos for the same reason during its 3rd quarter.
The Community Guidelines Enforcement reported that more than 94% of these videos were flagged by machines first rather than people.
