Fake movie trailer channels banned from monetization on YouTube
Hollywood studios reportedly pushed to keep ad revenue flowing for fake trailers.
YouTube has taken action against AI-driven fake movie trailer channels, stripping them of their ability to monetize content. Following an investigation by Deadline, two of the most prominent channels, Screen Culture and KH Studio, have reportedly lost their ad revenue privileges.
With over two million subscribers and nearly two billion views combined, these channels created misleading trailers by splicing footage from existing films with AI-generated content.
Many unsuspecting viewers believed they were seeing genuine first looks at upcoming projects, such as Grand Theft Auto VI and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
Hollywood studios have reportedly lobbied YouTube to maintain monetization for such channels, though the reasons remain unclear. However, YouTube’s policies explicitly state that content must be ‘significantly changed’ and not copied solely for generating views.
While KH Studio’s founder defended their work as ‘creative exploration,’ Screen Culture’s founder questioned, ‘what’s the harm?’ YouTube’s latest crackdown suggests it is taking a firmer stance on AI-generated misleading content.
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