Platform Cites Violations of Violent Events Policy in Response to Ukraine Invasion
YouTube has announced the global blocking of channels associated with Russian state-funded media, including Russia Today and Sputnik, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The move aligns with the platform’s violent events policy, which prohibits content that denies, minimizes, or trivializes well-documented violent events. Previously, these channels had been blocked in Europe, but the new policy applies globally.
The decision was announced in a Twitter post on Friday, with YouTube stating that it would take time for its systems to fully implement the change. The platform also confirmed it would remove any content related to the invasion that violates its policy on content that “minimizes or trivializes well-documented violent events.” Russia has referred to the invasion as a “special military operation,” a term that YouTube is now removing when it violates its guidelines.
