Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google says it removed nearly 11,000 YouTube channels and other accounts in the second quarter for pushing state‑sponsored propaganda, the company's latest sweep against coordinated influence operations.
What Happened: More than 7,700 of the shuttered channels traced back to China and pumped out videos in Chinese and English that praised the People's Republic, promoted President Xi Jinping and opined on U.S. foreign policy, reported Google's Threat Analysis Group.
Roughly 2,000 additional channels were linked to Russia and posted in multiple languages while attacking Ukraine, NATO and the West. The purge also swept up smaller networks tied to Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Israel, Romania and Ghana that sought to undermine political rivals or shape debate over the Israel‑Palestine war.
Google noted in May that it had already yanked 20 YouTube channels, four Ad accounts and a Blogger site affiliated with Kremlin outlet RT after prosecutors said conservative influencers were paid to spread Moscow's talking points ahead of the 2024 election. The company blocked RT's main channels in 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.
"The findings from the most recent update are in line with our expectations of this regular and ongoing work," a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement shared with CNBC. Google mentioned that more than 23,000 accounts came down in the first quarter alone.
Why It Matters: Google's move lands as rival Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) touts its cleanup. The company said last week it scrubbed about 10 million Facebook and Instagram profiles in the first half of 2025 for impersonating well‑known content creators in what it called a "spammy" influence scheme.
Alphabet Inc. is set to release its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday. Analysts anticipate strong results, despite concerns over the impact of AI on the company's core search business.
Price Action: Alphabet Inc.’s Class A shares rose 2.72% on Monday, while Class C shares increased by 2.8%, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Alphabet offers strong Growth and Quality, with average scores on the Value and Quality metrics as per Benzinga's Proprietary Edge Rankings.
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