YouTube Refuses To Give Russian Government Funded Media Stage Globally

YouTube illustration. (Photo: Christian Wiediger / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - YouTube has reportedly started blocking access globally to channels linked to Russian state-funded media. They are claimed to have violated YouTube's rules with content that prohibits, minimizes or disparages well-documented violent events.

The Google-owned video platform has previously blocked channels, specifically Russia Today and Sputnik channels across Europe.

The move was announced by YouTube in a post on Twitter and said the changes would take effect immediately, "we hope it will take our system some time to upgrade," YouTube tweeted.

According to YouTube, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is now under its violent events policy and any infringing material will be removed. The company has also removed content about Russia's invasion of Ukraine that violates its policies.

There are more than 1,000 channels and more than 15,000 deleted videos related to this invasion.

"Our system also connects people to trusted news sources. So far, the latest news and top news shelves on our homepage have been viewed more than 17 million times in Ukraine," YouTube said as quoted by ZDNet, Saturday, March 12.

Russia's military actions have put the country at odds as well with a number of social media platforms, such as Meta and Twitter, as both sides to the conflict seek to influence its trajectory with internet controls.

Furthermore, employees across Google have also urged YouTube to take additional punitive action against Russian channels. The employees accused the Russian channel of spreading false narratives about the Ukrainian leadership and civilian deaths during the war.

The move comes as Russia has taken an increasingly aggressive stance against US technology companies by setting out measures to curb Russian disinformation on their platforms.

Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor said it would ban Instagram from March 14, following parent company Meta's decision to allow content from Ukraine calling for violence against the Russian occupier. A week ago, Russia blocked access to Facebook for the same reason.