ANALYSIS
YouTube removed 26,500 channels linked to Chinese, Russian and Iranian 'influence operations' in 2025
About 80% of the removed channels had ties to the Chinese Communist Party. The pro-Russian channels were the most linguistically diverse, publishing content in languages ranging from English to Kyrgyz.
Russian media study Russian Today
Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) removed more than 26,500 YouTube channels spreading Russian, Chinese and Iranian propaganda. Originally created to counter hacks targeting Google’s products and users, TAG also focuses on detecting "coordinated influence operations" and regularly publishes public reports on its findings.
A VOZ analysis of the first and second quarter reports shows that more than 21,100 suspended channels were linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), making China the country with the highest number of YouTube channels involved in "coordinated influence operations."
In June, the technology company shut down 2,598 YouTube channels belonging to a network that uploaded content in Chinese and English about China and U.S. foreign affairs. The network was also banned from appearing on Google News, the company’s news aggregation service.
Russia ranked second, with 5,377 channels. These channels promoted narratives critical of Ukraine and supportive of Russian war efforts, while also condemning NATO and the West in general.
Iran ranked third, far behind with 41 suspended channels. These channels published content supporting the Iranian government and Palestine while criticizing Israel and the United States.
The reports also show that networks linked to the Kremlin were the most linguistically diverse, publishing content in languages including English, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Italian, and even Kyrgyz. In contrast, Chinese networks were limited to Chinese and English. Iranian networks displayed some linguistic variety as well, though focused on a narrower geographic area, with content in Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, and Urdu.
In the case of Russian networks with YouTube accounts, TAG also identified different actors. Without naming them, he noted that behind some networks were consulting firms or state-sponsored entities. In one case he specifically referred to a Moscow-friendly media outlet: "The campaign was linked to the Russian state-controlled media outlet RT and was sharing content in Spanish, English, Serbian, and Russian that was supportive of Russia and critical of Ukraine and the West."
Azerbaijan, another protagonist
"The campaign was linked to a digital marketing firm and was sharing content in English about candidates in the Ghanaian presidential election."
The same applies to others linked to Nigeria, Romania, Israel, and Azerbaijan. The latter appeared several times in the Threat Analysis Group's monthly reports. In June, for example, the tech company deleted 288 accounts from its video platform that were dedicated to supporting the country and criticizing critics of its government and Armenia. Just one month earlier it had deleted another 457, and one month earlier 356.
In fact, like Russia and China, in every month of the year Google deleted accounts linked to Azerbaijan.
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