YouTube prohibits the Russian Government-owned media outlet RT and other Russian media channels from receiving money from their video advertisements that appear on YouTube. This move is similar to that of Facebook, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In consideration of "exceptional circumstances," YouTube announced it was pausing the ability of some Russian media channels to monetize on YouTube. Including channels belonging to sanctioned figures from the European Union.
Ad placement is largely controlled by YouTube.
The European Union last Wednesday announced sanctions against individuals including Margarita Simonyan, described as RT's editor-in-chief and a "central figure" of Russian propaganda.
Videos from channels affected in Russia will also appear less frequently in YouTube recommendations, YouTube spokesman Farshad Shadloo said in a statement.
He added that RT and some other channels were no longer accessible in Ukraine due to the request of the Ukrainian government.
Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted earlier on Saturday that he was contacting YouTube "to block Russian propaganda media channels, such as Russia 24, TASS, RIA Novosti.
RT and Simonyan did not respond to requests for comment. YouTube declined to name the other channels it had restricted.
For years, US lawmakers and some users have called on YouTube, which is owned by Alphabet Inc's Google, to take greater action against channels with ties to the Russian government for fear they are spreading misinformation and should not profit from it.
Russia received about $7 million to $32 million over the two-year period ending in December 2018 from ads on the 26 YouTube channels it supports, digital researcher Omelas told Reuters at the time.
