YouTube is experiencing significant operational issues in Russia, including slow loading times, following a major crackdown on Russian propaganda channels. This disruption has coincided with YouTube’s record number of channel removals between May and June 2024, according to a new report by Novaya Gazeta Europe, as cited by the independent Russian media outlet Meduza.
Novaya Gazeta Europe analyzed quarterly reports from Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG), which has been monitoring cyber threats since 2020. The data reveals that YouTube has removed approximately 9,400 channels associated with Russian propaganda since 2020. Notably, 8,800 of these channels were taken down after the onset of the war in Ukraine.
The peak of this crackdown occurred in May and June 2024, with YouTube blocking around 3,600 accounts—38% of the total removals recorded during this period. This surge in activity prompted speculation that Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media watchdog, may have retaliated by deliberately slowing down YouTube’s performance within the country.
Reports of YouTube outages in July and August 2024 support this theory. A source within the telecommunications industry told Meduza that these disruptions were likely a result of deliberate measures by Russian authorities to impair YouTube.
On the other hand, Russian telecommunications provider Rostelecom attributed the slowdowns to technical issues with Google Global Cache, a system designed to speed up video loading times. Google, however, has denied any technical problems on its end, suggesting that the issues might be more politically motivated.
As tensions between Russia and global tech companies escalate, the operational stability of major platforms like YouTube remains a critical issue, reflecting broader geopolitical conflicts and the struggle over information control.
