Youtube on Saturday suspended several Russian channels, including state-funded media RT point of sale, to generate revenue on the video service, following a similar approach move by owner of Facebook Meta Platforms Inc in the alarm of the invasion of Ukraine.
Citing “extraordinary circumstances,” YouTube said in a statement that he was “putting in pause a certain number of canals’ ability monetize on YouTube, including several affiliated Russian channels with recent sanctions.”
Videos of the channels concerned also will come up less often in recommendations, YouTube spokesperson Farshad Shadloo said. He added that RT and several other channels would no longer be accessible in Ukraine because of “a government demand.”
For years, lawmakers and some users have called on YouTube, which is owned by Alphabet Inc’s Google, to block channels with ties with Russia government to earn money tools out of fear that they are spreading false information and should not take advantage of it.
Meta on Friday banned the Russian state media by serving advertisements or generating revenue from advertisements on its services everywhere in the world.
