Google Shuts Down 449 South Korean Political YouTube Channels

Google shut down 449 Korean-language YouTube channels related to politics during its investigation into coordinated influence operations in the second quarter of this year.

These channels supported or criticized the South Korean government, political parties, or politicians. Out of the total, 367 channels—accounting for 81.7%—were blocked in May alone, just ahead of the June 3 local elections.

This large-scale shutdown of Korean-language channels by Google is unusual, and the company did not disclose the specific channel names or the exact grounds for its decisions.
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