YouTube cracks down on fake movie trailer channels by disabling ad revenue

What you need to know

• YouTube is taking action against accounts that create fake movie trailers with the help of AI and mislead viewers from the get-go.
• Two major accounts with over two million subscribers combined were the first to take the hit as YouTube shut down ad revenue for them.
• YouTube removed both channels from the YouTube Partner Program “for violating monetization policies."

YouTube seems to be taking steps to curb the production of fake movie trailers that trick users, generating millions of views and revenue from these videos. But instead of taking down these videos or accounts linked to them, it is demonetizing these channels.

You've likely scrolled through YouTube and encountered clickbait movie trailers that promise a surprise Marvel sequel or the trailer for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with a cover picture showcasing Daniel Radcliffe as the lead. But these genuine-looking trailers are nothing but fake videos edited to seem real. Now, with the help of AI, it has become much easier to simply give it a prompt and see the magic happen.

According to a report by Deadline, YouTube has turned off the ability for two major fake movie trailer accounts to monetize their videos, which have been seemingly created with the help of AI. The accounts in concern are Screen Culture and KH Studio trailers which have over two million subscribers combined.

Screen Culture, which has over 1.4 million subscribers, is notorious for creating conceptual fan trailers of movies that look like the real deal. In the recent past, the account has been leveraging AI to create scenarios with existing footage from old movies and mashing it up with new AI footage to create fake trailers.

KH Studios, with nearly 700K subscribers, creates trailers based on imagined movies and "what if" scenarios. For example, they've created trailers imagining Henry Cavill as the next James Bond or Leonardo DiCaprio in a Squid Game season, Deadline states.

Due to both channels showcasing misleading content, YouTube suspended both Screen Culture and KH Studios for violating monetization policies, and now they cannot earn ad revenue from all of their videos. While both channels can appeal to counter YouTube's decision, its highly unlikely that things will change in their favor.

YouTube's monetization policy clearly states that while creators do have freedom of speech, they should "avoid creating content that is misleading or controversial and the "video content should not be deceptive or clickbait." And both channels seem to be repeat offenders of the above.

While Screen Culture is yet to put out an official statement or comment on the matter, KH Studios' founder told Deadline, “I’ve been running KH Studio full-time for over three years now, putting everything into it. It’s tough to see it grouped under “misleading content” in the demonetization decision when my goal has always been to explore creative possibilities – not to misrepresent real releases,” they added.

YouTube hasn't commented on the matter yet. However, Android Central has reached out to the streaming platform and will update this article once we have more information.