YouTube is finally doing something about all those AI trailer videos that have been cropping up across the platform. If you've been on the internet in the past few years you've likely seen one of these AI film trailers. Maybe you've even left a poorly generated AI comment on them.
They often feature cuts of famous actors spliced in from other projects, or as is becoming more common, straight up fake generated footage to advertise equally non-existent movies. This is all done in the name of revenue, and so YouTube has suspended several large AI trailer accounts from the company's paid partner program.
This all comes after Deadline began investigating the rise of AI trailer videos on YouTube. Since then, the website reports the suspension of two YouTube channels, Screen Culture and KH Studio, from earning revenue from their AI videos. The channels have 1.4M subscribers and 724,000 subs respectively, and that's just on their primary accounts.
"Our enforcement decisions, including suspensions from the YouTube partner program, apply to all channels that may be owned or operated by the impacted creator." reads a statement from YouTube, so it should include any of their smaller linked accounts too.
Taking monetisation away from these accounts is a good start, as it's clearly the driving goal. Not just for these accounts, but also from others that may be claiming their own revenue. Deadline's investigation also brought to light that prominent Hollywood studios, including Warner Bros. Discovery and Sony, have claimed ad revenue on Screen Culture trailers. So even the companies in control of the IP aren't particularly motivated to put a stop to these videos, especially while checks are still rolling in.
With the suspension on these major accounts, hopefully we'll see a huge dip in their propensity on YouTube. Without financial remuneration the creators of these videos should be less incentivised by spreading misinformation.
There's also the glimmer of light that suggests this could be the start of YouTube taking more serious action against AI content on the platform. Though I worry that's probably a little bit too much to hope for in one day.
