War in Ukraine: YouTube banned RT from earning ads on its platform

The YouTube banned on Saturday in the state-owned Russian media RT and other Russian channels to have revenue from ads that play along with their videos on its platform, something similar to what Facebook did after the invasion of Ukraine.

Citing “exceptional circumstances,” YouTube said it was “suspending the ability of a number of channels to monetize YouTube, including Russian channels related to recent sanctions,” such as those of the European Union. Ad placement is heavily controlled by YouTube.

The EU on Wednesday announced sanctions against individuals, including Margarita Simonian, whom it described as the director of RT and a “central figure” in Russian propaganda.

Videos from these channels will also be less frequently mentioned among those recommended by YouTube, said YouTube spokesman Farshad Sandlu. He added that RT and several other channels would no longer be accessible to Ukraine at the request of the Ukrainian government.

Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov wrote on Twitter earlier today that he had contacted YouTube “to block Russian propaganda channels – such as Russia 24, TASS, RIA Novosti”.

RT and Simonyan did not respond when asked to comment. YouTube declined to name the other channels it restricted.

Source: News Beast

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