Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) has published its latest report about the coordinated influence operation campaigns it detected and terminated in the first quarter of 2025. The newly available insight highlights that TAG terminated 23,267 YouTube channels.
TAG Bulletin is a quarterly update that Google has been sharing for several years to inform the general public about bad actors exploiting its platforms, such as YouTube, Google News, Google Ads, and Blogger. It offers an insight into a diverse world of online influence operations trying to spread narratives around geopolitical conflicts, elections, and regional tensions.
While the affected YouTube channels were linked to different countries, the report states that about 15,800 related to China alone were neutralized in January, February, and March, adding that these findings are consistent with previous reports.
Terminated YouTube channels were also linked to Azerbaijan, Russia, Germany, Nigeria, Romania, and others. Speaking of individual months, TAG removed over 14,600 YouTube channels in January, followed by 4,000+ in February and 4,500+ in March of the first quarter.
Google's Threat Analysis Group also blocked many domains from appearing on Google News and Discover feeds as part of its investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to different countries. In one instance, it blocked 21 domains linked to a US-based consulting firm from showing up on Google News and Discover.
While not in massive numbers, the search giant purged several Ads accounts and Blogger blogs. The group said it received leads from Meta when investigating campaigns linked to China and Israel. These coordinated campaigns, mostly political in nature, revolve around ongoing conflicts in various countries worldwide and use different languages to target a wider audience.
The bulletin joins the list of safety measures Google takes to reduce misinformation and scams on its platforms. Google recently updated the Chrome browser to use Gemini Nano for its Enhanced Protection Mode to protect against online scams and improved the AI-powered Scam Detection feature on Android devices.
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