Posted by Shane Huntley, Director, Threat Analysis Group
This bulletin includes coordinated influence operation campaigns terminated on our platforms in Q2 2022. It was last updated on June 30, 2022.
May
We terminated 20 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. The campaign was linked to a Russian consulting firm and was sharing content in Russian that was supportive of Russia’s actions in Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin and critical of NATO, Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
We terminated 5 YouTube channels, 1 AdSense account, and 1 Blogger blog as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. The campaign was linked to Russian state-sponsored entities and was sharing content in Russian and Bulgarian that was supportive of separatist movements in the disputed regions of Ukraine and critical of Ukraine and the West.
We terminated 14 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. The campaign was linked to the Internet Research Agency (IRA) and was sharing content in Russian that was critical of Ukrainian politicians.
We blocked 1 domain from eligibility to appear on Google News surfaces and Discover as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Iran. The campaign was linked to Endless Mayfly and was sharing content in English about a variety of topics including US and global current events. We received leads from Mandiant that supported us in this investigation.
We terminated 3 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to China. The campaign was sharing content in English about the origins of COVID-19.
We terminated 4067 YouTube channels as part of our ongoing investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to China. These channels mostly uploaded spammy content in Chinese about music, entertainment, and lifestyle. A very small subset uploaded content in Chinese and English about China and U.S. foreign affairs. These findings are consistent with our previous reports.
Article Link: Google Online Security Blog: TAG Bulletin: Q2 2022