Google yanks two Kremlin-backing news channels from YouTube across Europe

What you need to know

Google Europe has announced that it has blocked access to two Russian news channels on YouTube.
RT and Sputnik are now no longer available on YouTube.
The ban covers European countries.

YouTube is now an RT and Sputnik-free zone.

Google has announced the blocking of two YouTube channels belonging to news organizations heavily linked to the Kremlin, the company has announced.

The move, which was announced via Twitter and only applies to European countries, means that neither RT nor Sputnik now has an official YouTube presence in the continent. Searching for the channels in the UK does show them and their channel logo, but clicking through gives you an error suggesting that the channel cannot be viewed in your country.

Google made the announcement by saying that it “might take time for our systems to fully ramp up,” although tests in the UK showed the two channels disappear almost immediately.

Google Europe’s statement reads:

Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, we’re blocking YouTube channels connected to RT and Sputnik across Europe, effective immediately. It’ll take time for our systems to fully ramp up. Our teams continue to monitor the situation around the clock to take swift action.

Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, we’re blocking YouTube channels connected to RT and Sputnik across Europe, effective immediately. It’ll take time for our systems to fully ramp up. Our teams continue to monitor the situation around the clock to take swift action.

— Google Europe (@googleeurope) March 1, 2022

The move comes as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine and media companies around the world wrestle with disinformation. Both RT and Sputnik are said to have close ties to President Putin and the Kremlin and it’s thought that neither are impartial. Rather, the two channels are thought to spread disinformation and propaganda for Moscow.

There is currently no suggestion that the two channels could return to the YouTube platform or whether they could be blocked on other continents in the future.