Last week, a Russian news outlet faced a ban from Google’s YouTube platform. Ura.ru, a long-standing online news outlet in Russia, reported that its YouTube channel was taken down after publishing footage related to referendums in recently annexed territories. The outlet described the move as a direct consequence of posting material about the processes surrounding those referendums.
According to Mikhail Titov, the editor, the channel had attracted about 85 thousand subscribers. Titov detailed the sequence of events: the first strike arrived on May 3 for a video from the previous year that covered a statement by the Kherson region administration regarding a referendum on joining the Russian Federation. A second strike followed on May 12 for a report outlining potential changes in the LPR and DPR after the referendums. A third warning led to an automatic block on May 27, labeled as a violation of platform rules.
Titov added that Ura.ru has already launched a new YouTube channel to continue sharing its reporting with audiences. The situation comes amid ongoing tensions around how social platforms police content tied to territorial changes and referendums, a topic closely watched by media and policymakers in Canada and the United States for its implications on information access and media freedom.
In related regulatory actions, on May 17, the Moscow Arbitration Court, after an appeal, ordered Google to restore access to nine YouTube channels operated by REN TV, a decision that the channel itself announced publicly. This ruling highlights the ongoing friction between national media outlets and global platforms over content moderation and the enforcement of local rules on international services. The case has drawn attention from media observers in North America who track how platform policies affect coverage of regional conflicts and political events [citation attributed to court ruling and company statements].