YouTube is finally doing something about all those fake movie trailers

Summary

Fake movie trailers with AI-generated content are all over YouTube, and the video platform is finally taking action against some of the biggest culprits.
A Deadline investigation found that Hollywood studios were asking YouTube to redirect revenue gained from these fake AI trailers to them.
YouTube has suspended ad revenue for channels like Screen Trailers and Royal Trailer, which post fake movie trailers that splice together real clips with AI-generated content.

If you spend a lot of time watching

YouTube videos
, you’ve likely encountered a misleading trailer for a show or movie popping up in

your recommendations
, with AI-generated voiceovers and video clips.

Many of these trailers take clips from actual movie trailers and splice them together with AI-generated slop. As a result, sometimes viewers can be deceived into thinking the trailers are real, causing them to amass millions of views. A recent Deadline investigation revealed that a “handful of Hollywood studios” were asking YouTube to redirect some of the ad revenue from those trailers “in their direction.”

Deadline didn’t name any of the studios, but due to its reporting, YouTube suspended two prominent fake movie trailer channels, Screen Culture and KH Studio, from its partnership program, effectively cutting off any ad revenue they generate. Now, YouTube is taking further action against fake movie trailer channels in an effort to crackdown on the ad revenue these misleading, AI-generated trailers generate.

YouTube

notable shows: Kitchen Nightmares, Merlin
notable movies: Clueless, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, How to Train Your Dragon, Mean Girls, Star Trek
Premium Subscription: Yes, $13.99 per month
Originals: No
Live TV: No

ESPN’s $30 streaming service is almost here, but it won’t replace ESPN+

ESPN’s new streaming service will serve as the primary destination for all of ESPN’s live sports content and other programming.

YouTube has suspended ad revenue for two more fake movie trailer channels

Sorry, but a sequel to James Cameron’s Titanic isn’t happening

Following Deadline’s reporting, YouTube has acted against two additional fake movie trailer channels. It has now removed ad revenue from Screen Trailers and Royal Trailer, both of which are alternative accounts for Screen Culture and KH Studio.

One of the most recent AI-generated movie trailers from Screen Trailers is a misleading trailer for “Titanic 2.” Which is indeed, just as bonkers as it sounds. What are they going to do? Sink the ship again? You can watch the trailer above if you dare, but at least you can take solace in the fact that it’s no longer generating ad revenue for the creators.

The latest video from Royal Trailer is a fake AI-generated trailer for Toy Story 5, which might have the worst AI voiceover I have ever heard. However, in just 3 days since being uploaded, it has already amassed over 144,000 views, so many people have clicked on it.

According to Deadline, YouTube’s monetization policies state that if creators use content from others, they must “change it significantly to make it your own” and should not make it for the “sole purpose of getting views.” YouTube’s misinformation policy also states that content cannot be posted on its platform that has been “technically manipulated or doctored in a way that misleads users.”

“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 said in a statement to Deadline.

SAG-AFTRA, an American labor union for actors, actresses, and other media professionals, said in a statement to Deadline that:

“Monetizing unauthorized, unwanted, and subpar uses of human-centered IP is a race to the bottom. It incentivizes technology companies and short-term gains at the expense of lasting human creative endeavor.”

At the time of writing, Screen Culture, one of the first channels YouTube suspended from gaining ad revenue, has 1.42 million subscribers. In contrast, its alternative channels, Screen Trailers and Royal Trailer, have 33,000 and 144,000 subscribers, respectively. Despite losing its YouTube partnership status, Screen Culture continues to upload, with its latest video being a “Trailer 2 concept” for James Gunn’s Superman movie due out later this year, with an AI voiceover and AI-generated clips spliced in. Hopefully, YouTube will continue its efforts to crackdown on fake movie trailer channels, especially any that make use of AI technology.