YouTube finally pulls the plug on AI movie trailers that never existed

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If you’ve ever searched YouTube for a movie trailer and ended up watching a suspiciously familiar montage with dramatic music, weird faces, and a title card screaming “OFFICIAL TRAILER,” you’re not alone. 

Earlier this year, it became clear that YouTube knew its platform was overflowing with fake movie trailers, many stitched together using generative AI for films that didn’t actually have real trailers yet. 

Now, YouTube has finally grabbed the ban hammer.

According to Deadline, YouTube has shut down Screen Culture and KH Studio, two of the most notorious offenders in the fake-trailer business. 

These channels specialize in “trailers” for upcoming movies like Fantastic Four: First Steps and Superman, as well as hit shows like Squid Game. 

None of those videos were real, but plenty of people clicked anyway.

Before disappearing, the two channels had racked up more than 2 million subscribers and over a billion total views. 

Now, their pages display YouTube’s digital equivalent of a shrug: “This page isn’t available. Sorry about that.”

This wasn’t an overnight decision. After Deadline’s initial investigation, YouTube first suspended the channels from its Partner Program and paused ads on their videos. 

The final straw? Letting major studios like Disney claim a cut of the revenue violates YouTube’s monetization rules. Apparently, even fake trailers have to follow real policies.

The timing is especially awkward for Disney, which is currently arguing with itself about generative AI. 

Just last week, Disney sent Google a cease-and-desist letter over alleged copyright infringement by its AI tools. 

That came shortly after Disney announced a three-year licensing deal and a reported $1 billion investment into OpenAI, bringing more than 200 Disney characters into ChatGPT and the Sora video tool.

So while YouTube cleans up AI-generated junk trailers, Disney’s characters are gearing up for an AI-powered future elsewhere, possibly streaming soon on Disney+.