YouTube has removed more than 70,000 videos and 9,000 channels related to the war in Ukraine for violating content guidelines, including removing videos that described the invasion as a “liberation mission.”
The platform is very popular in Russia, where, unlike some of its US counterparts, it has not been shut down, despite hosting content from opposition figures such as Alexei Navalny. YouTube has also been able to operate in Russia, although it has cracked down on pro-Kremlin content that violated policies, including its Major Violent Events policy, which prohibits denying or trivializing the invasion.
Since the conflict began in February, YouTube has shut down channels, including that of pro-Kremlin journalist Vladimir Solovyov. Channels linked to Russia’s defense and foreign ministries have also been temporarily banned from uploading videos in recent months for describing the war as a “liberation mission.”
Neal Mohan, YouTube’s chief product officer, said: “We have a policy on major violent events, and that applies to things like denial of major violent events: everything from the Holocaust to Sandy Hook. And of course what is happening in Ukraine is a major violent event. And so we have used this policy to take unprecedented action.”
In an interview with the Guardian, Mohan added that YouTube’s news content about the conflict has received more than 40 million views in Ukraine alone.
“The first responsibility, and probably the most important, is to make sure that people looking for information about this event are getting accurate, high-quality, and credible information on YouTube,” he said. “The usage of relevant channels on our platform has increased significantly, of course in Ukraine, but also in the countries around Ukraine, in Poland and also in Russia itself.”
YouTube didn’t provide a breakdown of the content and channels removed, but Mohan said much of it represented Kremlin narratives about the invasion. “I don’t have exact numbers, but you can imagine a lot of them are narratives coming from the Russian government, or from Russian actors on behalf of the Russian government,” he said.
Sign up for First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am BST
YouTube has an estimated 90 million users in Russia, although it no longer allows advertising on the platform in the country. The decision by YouTube’s parent company, Google, has drawn protests from Navalny, who said targeted ads helped counter Kremlin propaganda.
“YouTube remains the largest video-sharing site operating in Russia itself,” Mohan said. “So YouTube is a place where Russian citizens can get uncensored information about the war, including from many of the same authoritative channels that we all have access to outside the country. We remain an important platform for Russian citizens themselves as this crisis unfolds.”
Last week, Russia’s Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadaev said the country would not block YouTube, despite disputes over content that have led to the platform being fined in court for failing to remove banned videos.
Shadaev pointed out that the blocking of Russia’s most popular social media platform would have an impact on users. “We do not plan to close YouTube,” said the minister. “First of all, if we restrict something, we should clearly understand that our users will not suffer.”
YouTube has also imposed a global ban on channels linked to Russian state media, including Russia Today and Sputnik. Facebook and Instagram are banned in Russia, and access to Twitter has been restricted to Russian state media in response to the platforms’ own bans.