OUT IN THE COLD

YouTube Pulls Down Putin’s Propaganda Channels Across Europe

Viewers in Europe can no longer see videos from state-owned news channels RT and Sputnik.

Russia’s state-backed news channels RT and Sputnik have been thrown off YouTube in Europe in a move that will significantly harm the Kremlin’s ability to spread lies about Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. In an announcement early Tuesday, YouTube parent company Google said in a statement posted to Twitter: “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.” Immediately after the announcement was posted, users who clicked onto the channels were met with the error message: “This channel is not available in your country.” The ban came after similar action from Facebook and Twitter this week.