Updates from Threat Analysis Group (TAG)

Threat Analysis Group

TAG Bulletin: Q2 2024

Jun 04, 2024

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Billy Leonard
Threat Analysis Group

This bulletin includes coordinated influence operation campaigns terminated on our platforms in Q2 2024. It was last updated on September 23, 2024.

April

  • We terminated 1 Ads account and 1 AdSense account as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Indonesia. The campaign was sharing content in Bahasa Indonesia that was supportive of the ruling party.
  • We terminated 37 Blogger blogs as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Indonesia. The campaign was sharing content in Bahasa Indonesia that was supportive of the ruling party.
  • We terminated 2 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Myanmar. The campaign was sharing content in Burmese and English that was supportive of the Burmese military government and critical of pro-independence groups.
  • We terminated 1 AdSense account and and blocked 10 domains from eligibility to appear on Google News surfaces and Discover as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to individuals in the Philippines and India. The campaign was sharing content in English and Norwegian about food, sports, and lifestyle topics. We believe this operation was financially motivated.
  • We terminated 59 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Pakistan.The campaign was sharing Shorts content in Urdu that was critical of Pakistani political figures.
  • We terminated 11 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to individuals in Russia. The campaign was sharing content supportive of Russia and critical of Ukraine.
  • We terminated 378 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. The campaign was linked to a Russian consulting firm and was sharing content in Russian that was supportive of Russia and critical of Ukraine and the West.
  • We terminated 11 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to individuals in France. The campaign was sharing content in French that was critical of French political figures.
  • We terminated 1,320 YouTube channels and 1,177 Blogger blogs as part of our ongoing investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The coordinated inauthentic network uploaded content in Chinese and English about China and U.S. foreign affairs. These findings are consistent with our previous reports.
  • We terminated 123 YouTube channels and 2 Ads accounts as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to India. The campaign was sharing content in Hindi and English.
  • We terminated 88 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to India. The campaign was linked to two digital marketing firms in India and was sharing content in Hindi that was supportive of an Indian politician in Maharashtra.
  • We terminated 13 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to India. The campaign was sharing content in Hindi and English that was supportive of politicians in Rajasthan state.
  • We terminated 304 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to India. The campaign was sharing content in Odia, Hindi and English that was supportive of politicians in Odisha state.
  • We terminated 124 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to India. The campaign was sharing content in Telugu, Hindi and English that was supportive of politicians in Andhra Pradesh state.
  • We terminated 82 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to India. The campaign was sharing content in Hindi that was supportive of an activist and their organization in Bihar state.

May

  • We terminated 20 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Mexico. The campaign was sharing content in Spanish that was critical of the Mexican ruling party.
  • We terminated 28 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Mexico. The campaign was sharing content in Spanish that was supportive of the Mexican ruling party.
  • We terminated 1 Ads account as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to individuals in Argentina. The campaign was sharing content in Portuguese that was critical of opposition political parties in Portugal.
  • We terminated 2,357 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. The campaign was linked to a Russian consulting firm and was sharing content in Russian that was supportive of Russia and critical of Ukraine and the West.
  • We terminated 21 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. The campaign was sharing content in Russian, French, Italian, Polish, Ukrainian and German that was supportive of Russia and critical of the West. We received leads from OpenAI that supported us in this investigation.
  • We terminated 12 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Bangladesh. The campaign was sharing content in Bengali and English that was critical of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). We received leads from Meta that supported us in this investigation.
  • We terminated 4 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Iran. The campaign was sharing content in English, Farsi and Arabic that was supportive of Iran, Yemen, Palestine and Islam and critical of Israel.
  • We terminated 2 YouTube channels and blocked 2 domains from eligibility to appear on Google News surfaces and Discover as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Israel. The campaign was linked to the Israeli company STOIC and was sharing content in English that was critical of Muslim immigration to Canada. We received leads from OpenAI and Meta that supported us in this investigation.
  • We terminated 1,595 YouTube channels and 32 Blogger blogs as part of our ongoing investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The coordinated inauthentic network uploaded content in Chinese and English about China and U.S. foreign affairs. These findings are consistent with our previous reports.

June

  • We terminated 1,253 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Russia. The campaign was linked to a Russian consulting firm and was sharing content in Russian that was supportive of Russia and critical of Ukraine and the West.
  • We terminated 9 YouTube channels as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to Azerbaijan. The campaign was sharing content in Azerbaijani that was supportive of Azerbaijan and critical of Armenia and critics of the Azerbaijani government.
  • We blocked 112 domains from eligibility to appear on Google News surfaces and Discover as part of our investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The campaign was sharing content in English, French, Japanese, Thai, Chinese, and other languages that was supportive of China among news and current events content for different regional audiences.
  • We terminated 3,931 YouTube channels as part of our ongoing investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The coordinated inauthentic network uploaded content in Chinese and English about China and U.S. foreign affairs. These findings are consistent with our previous reports.
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