Google Shuts Down 449 South Korean YouTube Channels Over Politically Charged Content, 367 Taken Down Just Weeks Before Local Elections
Seoul: Google shut down 449 South Korean YouTube channels in the second quarter of this year for their politically charged content, a report showed. According to "Influence Operations Bulletin Q2 2006" by Google's Threat Analysis Group, the U.S. company terminated 22 YouTube channels in Korean in April, 367 more in May and another 60 in June. 구글, '여론조작 정황' 한국 정치 유튜브 449개 폐쇄 정부 비판 + 민주당 비판 195개 정부…
South Korean internet giant Google terminated 449 YouTube channels in the second quarter of 2026 due to their politically charged content, according to a report by the company's Threat Analysis Group. The largest number of shutdowns (367) occurred just before the local elections on June 3, 2026, with many of the removed channels critical or supportive of the South Korean government and specific political parties or figures.
Google did not shut down any South Korean YouTube channels during the period between the second quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.
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