YouTube cracks down harder on fake movie trailer channels with new demonetizations

[midian182]

What just happened? YouTube is cracking down harder on the many creators that produce fake movie trailers. After the company demonetized two of the biggest channels that produce these fakes earlier this year, it is has now suspended ad revenue on two accounts run by the same creators.

Fake trailers, sometimes known as fan trailers, have become a very common sight on YouTube. They usually show what is supposed to be clips from sequels or new franchise entries that aren't being made, such as Henry Cavill and Margot Robbie in James Bond. There are also those that place actors in shows they aren't appearing in (Leonardo DiCaprio in Squid Game season 3), and lots for real upcoming movies that have been stitched together from previous footage and AI clips.

These trailers receive views that can reach into the millions and even tens of millions, earning those behind the channels a lot of money from YouTube.

As for why the Hollywood studios never hit these channels with copyright strikes, an investigation by Deadline discovered several studios ask YouTube to ensure the ad revenue generated by the videos flows in their direction. The fact that these fakes bring more publicity to the real movies and shows they are copying further dissuades IP owners from taking action.

But with the Deadline investigation raising more awareness of fake trailers, a damning statement from actors' union SAG-AFTRA, and most people's dislike of this misleading, exploitative content rising, YouTube turned off ad revenue on Screen Culture and KH Studio – two of the biggest fan-trailer channels – in March.

Now, YouTube has demonetized Screen Trailers and Royal Trailer, two alternative accounts run by the creators behind Screen Culture and KH Studio.

"Our enforcement decisions, including suspensions from the YouTube partner program, apply to all channels that may be owned or operated by the impacted creator," YouTube wrote in a statement (via Deadline).

For all the hate these channels get, Screen Culture has still managed to attract 1.42 million subscribers. KH Studio has 724,000 subscribers, Royal Trailer has 153,000 followers, and Screen Trailers has 33,000 subscribers.

Both the channels' founders previously said it was disappointing to see their videos grouped under "misleading content" in the demonetization decision as they don't aim to misrepresent real releases. It's a questionable claim when a video from a month ago is titled "Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday | Leaked Trailer." However, most of the newer trailers do have the word "concept" in their title.

Whether these channels survive without YouTube's ad money remains to be seen.

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YouTube cracks down harder on fake movie trailer channels with new demonetizations

 

[Hassanabi]

This is going to hurt a lot of Indian channels I presume, can't recount how often I've seen or accidently clicked one of those slideshow animation trailers with some Indian going over the story.

They also love to add "Official" in the title and even use Netflix intros and such in an attempt to fool people.

If this leads to them stopping this annoying stuff, it would be a win in general.

One example is this channel:

Check their videos and notice how many of them have "Official trailer" in them when they're not.

 

[unoficialoficial]

It seems like YouTube's guidelines are like asking someone to make a truly tasty dish without using any key ingredients – things like sugar, eggs, oil, bacon, etc. That's why so many videos end up feeling like plain spaghetti with tomato sauce. Day after day, the same basic fare? How can genuine creative processes thrive without a sense of freedom in a protective enviroment?

If videos on YouTube had to adhere to the same strict rules that advertisements do, they probably wouldn't need to exist as separate content at all – people might just watch ads for entertainment! But because ads themselves follow those advertiser-friendly rules, they often become boring, and frankly, nobody *wants* to watch them. Simply trying to produce more ad-like videos isn't going to fix this problem.