Google removes 2,500 China-linked YouTube channels
Google has reportedly suspended business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware and software products except those covered by open source licenses. Photo: EPA-EFE. Sketched by the Pan Pacific Agency.
TAIPEI, Aug 8, 2020, Taiwan News. Google has removed more than 2,500 channels from its YouTube video-sharing platform as they were suspected of spreading disinformation from China, reports said Wednesday (Aug 5), Taiwan News reported.
The campaign from April to June targeted channels believed to have been involved in “coordinated influence operations” by the communist country, website C Net reported.
While most of the content was not related to politics and could be labeled as spam, a minority was involved in spreading political disinformation in a move compared to similar activities on Twitter.
The deleted channels mostly used the Chinese language, and one of the topics touched upon by the videos was the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, according to C Net. In addition, other channels had links to Russia and Iran.
The action by Google came in the run-up to the United States presidential election, with fears of foreign intervention growing, and amid a conflict between Washington and Beijing about the trustworthiness of Chinese technology companies such as Huawei and TikTok.
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