Google Removes Nearly 11,000 YouTube Channels Linked to China and Russia
Google has announced the removal of almost 11,000 YouTube channels and related accounts tied mainly to China and Russia during the second quarter of 2025. The action highlights Google’s intensified efforts to police its platforms amid a surge in coordinated digital propaganda and global information warfare.
According to Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG), which regularly monitors influence operations, this quarter’s crackdown targeted large-scale, state-linked propaganda networks designed to manipulate users’ perspectives and influence political discourse worldwide.
Over 7,700 YouTube channels were found to be linked to coordinated Chinese influence networks. These channels predominantly posted content in Chinese and English, promoting the Chinese government, supporting President Xi Jinping, and commenting positively on U.S. foreign policy from a PRC perspective.
More than 2,000 channels were associated with Russian operations. The deleted channels spread multilingual content that promoted pro-Russian narratives ; often supporting Moscow’s foreign policy, praising Russia's leadership, and criticizing Ukraine, NATO, and the West. Many were linked to state-backed media, including RT, and consultancy outfits.
The removed accounts engaged in “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” a mechanism where groups or state actors use fake profiles or shell channels to amplify targeted geopolitical messaging. The aim is to shape public opinion, undermine rivals, and promote favorable narratives, sometimes ahead of important elections or during major conflicts.
Channels tied to China often amplified the government’s actions and attempts to undermine criticism of Beijing’s domestic or foreign policy. Russian channels, meanwhile, focused on spreading narratives critical of Ukraine and Western countries, as well as supporting disinformation around ongoing military operations.
Google’s actions weren’t limited to just China and Russia. Coordinated, state-linked influence campaigns were also uncovered from countries including Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Israel, Romania, and Ghana. These smaller-scale operations targeted regional audiences, often aiming to discredit political opponents or fuel conflict in hotspots such as the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
The takedown didn’t stop at YouTube. Google applied enforcement across its entire ecosystem, deactivating Google Ads, AdSense, Blogger, and even taking domains off Google News and Discover when associated with misleading content. In Q2 alone, thousands of accounts spreading coordinated misinformation were deleted across all platforms.
Further, since the beginning of 2025, Google has now eliminated over 30,000 such accounts due to disinformation activities; a staggering indicator of the growing scope and sophistication of global influence operations targeting open online platforms.
