Information control on YouTube during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Abstract

This research note investigates the aftermath of YouTube's global ban on Russian state-affiliated media channels in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Using over 12 million YouTube comments across 40 Russian-language channels, we analyzed the effectiveness of the ban and the shifts in user activity before and after the platform’s intervention. We found that YouTube, in accordance with its promise, effectively removed user activity across the banned channels. However, the ban did not prevent users from seeking out ideologically similar content on other channels and, in turn, increased user engagement on otherwise less visible pro-Kremlin channels.