"The rare logical move by YT" — Internet reacts to YouTube disabling monetization for fake AI trailer channels Screen Culture and KH Studio
YouTube has reportedly stopped monetization for two channels that uploaded fake AI-generated movie trailers. The decision was taken after an investigation exclusively conducted by Deadline. According to the outlet, monetization has been discontinued for Screen Culture and KH Studio.
As per the investigation, Deadline reportedly concluded that Screen Culture had been making AI generated trailers that seemed very identical to the official ones. The channel has reportedly made such content for franchises like The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Superman. These fake trailers developed a massive interest amongst the fandoms.
KH Studio had posted quirky trailers on their channel. This included Squid Game trailer showcasing Leonardo Dicaprio as well as a James Bond film starring Henry Cavill and Margot Robbie.
The recent decision by YouTube to turn off the ad revenue of these channels has further garnered attention from netizens. An X user tweeted:
"The rare logical move by YT. But they still refuse to fix basic problems otherwise."
Another user wrote on X:
"I hate those channels. They pass off fake trailers as real and screw up any searches for real trailers."
"AI trailers had people waiting on movies that don’t exist," added a tweet.
"I remember when I used to believe those guys," commented a netizen.
A lot of other X users seemed to have liked this step taken by YouTube. An X user tweeted:
"Thank god, channels like Screen Culture was really getting on my nerves."
"Yeeeeeeeeees, f*ck you screen culture," read a tweet.
"I support this maybe they will stop making these sh*tty fake trailers," wrote a user.
As of now, Screen Culture has more than a million subscribers, while KH Studio has over 600K subscribers on its channel.
Deadline claimed that big Hollywood studios would ask YouTube to ensure that the revenues from the fake trailers are directed to them
The investigation by Deadline had made some serious claims against the big Hollywood studios. According to Deadline, studios like Warner Bros. Discovery and Sony have discreetly asked YouTube to ensure that the revenues accumulated from the AI-heavy videos get sent to them. The studios have so far declined to comment.
The decision to restrict monetization on the aforementioned channels meant that they could not earn ad-based revenues from their videos. According to Deadline, the channels can appeal the decision taken by YouTube. KH Studio's founder spoke on the situation and said:
"I’ve been running KH Studio full-time for over three years now, putting everything into it. It’s tough to see it grouped under “misleading content” in the demonetization decision, when my goal has always been to explore creative possibilities – not to misrepresent real releases."
Meanwhile, Screen Culture founder Nikhil P. Chaudhari told Deadline that most of most viewers understand that Screen Culture is not sharing official trailers. He further revealed that there is a group of editors under him who work on as many as 12 videos every week, following his guidelines.
As of now, it is unknown if the channels will appeal YouTube's decision to demonetize their content.