Google Removes Over 2,500 China-Linked YouTube Channels to Weed Out Disinformation
California, August 7: In a move to weed out disinformation, Alphabet-owned company Google has deleted more than 2,500 YouTube channels tied to China. Google has said that all these channels were removed between April and June after the disinformation campaign was identified by social media analytics company Graphika.
Releasing the quarterly bulletin on disinformation operations, Google stated that over 2,500 YouTube channels -- tied to China -- were removed 'as part of our ongoing investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to China.' Though Google did not identify the specific channels but cited that some of the channels touched on politics. Google to Invest USD 450 Million in ADT for Partnering on Home Security Products.
The latest move by Google is seen as a precautionary action ahead of the United State presidential elections scheduled on November 3, 2020. The issue of disinformation -- seeded by foreign actors -- have emerged a burning concern among the US politicians. Earlier in 2016, Russian government-linked actors pumped thousands of deceptive messages into the social media ecosystem ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Apart from China, Google's quarterly bulletin on disinformation operations also mentioned similar activities tied to Iran and Russia, reports news agency Reuters. Meanwhile, Chinese Embassy in the US has not commented on the issue as of yet. It is to be known that the United States administration is mulling to remove untrusted Chinese apps from US app stores, including TikTok.
