The Threat Analysis Group of Google ended up deleting more than 20,000 channels on the YouTube platform. This took place during Q1 of 2023 as per a recently published bulletin that was made public today,
The channels were a part of the company’s team investigation efforts which tried to figure out if there were any coordinated influence operation campaigns taking place or if they were linked to different nations or not.
As per the data which was published recently, over 18,000 of these channels out of the massive total had links to China. Meanwhile, a thousand of them were deleted during the month’s start for every quarter. Meanwhile. Google revealed how it ended up terminating 6930 channels on the app in March this year as a part of this very same investigation.
It claimed that these channels mostly added spam content in languages like Chinese and this was linked to music, lifestyle, and the likes of entertainment too.
Meanwhile, a tiny fraction of the content that was put out in Chinese and in English had to do with the relations between China and the USA including a focus on foreign affairs. The findings were consistent and in line with reports from the past, the team adds.
Now, we’re hearing more about how there are quite a few mentions of Russia too, and how the threat analysis group ended nearly 1000 channels having links to the nation of Azerbaijan during January. It similarly found some coordinated influence relating to operations having ties with Albania, Poland, Nigeria, Iran, and Venezuela.
But it’s not just the YouTube channels that are in question. The group ended up terming a series of AdSense accounts, and blogs on Blogger and even went about blocking domains from showcasing on Google News as well as Discover Feeds.
Moreover, the team mentioned how it got leads from places like Mandiant, Graphika, and even LinkedIn that assisted it during various parts of the research and investigation taking place.
So all in all, it appears like Google is cracking down on issues it feels might prove to be a huge problem in the future so they’re nipping them away, one at a time right now before it’s too late.
The reports come at a time when there is already great tension between China and the USA.
Read next: Apple And Google Join Hands To Stop Stalkers Misusing Bluetooth Location Trackers Including AirTags
The channels were a part of the company’s team investigation efforts which tried to figure out if there were any coordinated influence operation campaigns taking place or if they were linked to different nations or not.
As per the data which was published recently, over 18,000 of these channels out of the massive total had links to China. Meanwhile, a thousand of them were deleted during the month’s start for every quarter. Meanwhile. Google revealed how it ended up terminating 6930 channels on the app in March this year as a part of this very same investigation.
It claimed that these channels mostly added spam content in languages like Chinese and this was linked to music, lifestyle, and the likes of entertainment too.
Meanwhile, a tiny fraction of the content that was put out in Chinese and in English had to do with the relations between China and the USA including a focus on foreign affairs. The findings were consistent and in line with reports from the past, the team adds.
Now, we’re hearing more about how there are quite a few mentions of Russia too, and how the threat analysis group ended nearly 1000 channels having links to the nation of Azerbaijan during January. It similarly found some coordinated influence relating to operations having ties with Albania, Poland, Nigeria, Iran, and Venezuela.
But it’s not just the YouTube channels that are in question. The group ended up terming a series of AdSense accounts, and blogs on Blogger and even went about blocking domains from showcasing on Google News as well as Discover Feeds.
Moreover, the team mentioned how it got leads from places like Mandiant, Graphika, and even LinkedIn that assisted it during various parts of the research and investigation taking place.
So all in all, it appears like Google is cracking down on issues it feels might prove to be a huge problem in the future so they’re nipping them away, one at a time right now before it’s too late.
The reports come at a time when there is already great tension between China and the USA.
Read next: Apple And Google Join Hands To Stop Stalkers Misusing Bluetooth Location Trackers Including AirTags