YouTube has removed 70,000 videos of Ukraine-related coercion

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, YouTube has downloaded more than 70,000 videos so far related to the conflict. announced on Sunday. The company said The guardian he removed many of the videos violating his policy on major violent events, which prohibits content creators from denying or trivializing events such as the invasion.

YouTube did not crack down on the coercion, but noted that it had stopped approximately 9,000 channels as part of the purge, including one linked to pro-Kremlin journalist Vladimir Solovyov. Some of the videos that YouTube has downloaded violate the company’s guidelines by calling the invasion a “liberation mission.”

“We have a policy of major violent events, and that goes for things like denying major violent events: everything from the Holocaust to Sandy Hook. And of course, what is happening in Ukraine is a big event of violence, “said Neil Mohan, YouTube’s chief product officer. The guardian. “So we used this policy to take unprecedented action.”

Partly as a result of its actions, YouTube has seen a significant increase in the number of people in Ukraine, Poland and Russia consuming “authoritative” content about the conflict. In Ukraine, for example, news content about the invasion generated more than 40 million views. “The first and probably most important responsibility is to ensure that people who are looking for information about this event can get accurate, high-quality and reliable information on YouTube,” Mohan said. The guardian.

The move underscores the critical role of services such as YouTube in preventing the spread of misinformation online. In Russia alone, YouTube has more than 90 million users, making it the largest video-sharing platform in the country. The company’s actions against state-sponsored networks such as these have had a dramatic impact on the ability of these organizations to spread the Kremlin’s message.