YouTube bans two popular channels that created fake AI movie trailers

Deadline reports that these creators’ behavior went against YouTube’s policies on spam and misleading metadata. At the same time, Google loves generative AI: YouTube has added more ways for creators to use generative AI, and the company says more generative AI tools are coming in the future. This is a real tightrope for Google to walk.

While passing off AI videos as authentic trailers is undoubtedly spammy behavior, recent changes in the legal landscape could also be a factor. Disney recently partnered with OpenAI, bringing its extensive library of characters to the company’s Sora AI video app. At the same time, Disney sent a cease and desist letter to Google demanding removing Disney content from Google AI. The letter specifically cited AI content on YouTube as a concern.

Both banned trailer channels made heavy use of Disney properties, sometimes even incorporating clips from actual trailers. For example, Screen Culture created 23 AI trailers for Fantastic Four: first stepssome of which outperformed the official trailer in searches. It’s unclear if either account used Google’s Veo models to create the trailers, but Google’s AI will recreate the Disney characters without issue.

Although Screen Culture and KH Studio are the largest providers of AI movie trailers, they are far from the only ones. There are others with five- or six-figure subscriber counts, some of which include disclosures about fan-created content. Is this enough to save them from banishment? Many YouTube viewers probably hope so.