YouTube channels spreading fake, anti-Labour videos have racked up more than a billion views this year, as opportunists try to use AI-generated content to profit from political divisions in Britain.
Over the past year more than 150 channels have been discovered promoting anti-Labour stories as well as completely fake and inflammatory allegations about Keir Starmer.
A study seen by the Guardian found that the channels have accumulated 5.3 million subscribers and created more than 56,000 videos, with a total of almost 1.2 billion views in 2025. The network of anonymous channels includes dangerous rhetoric, AI scripts and British narrators to attract hits.
Starmer has been personally targeted. The Prime Minister’s name was mentioned 15,600 times in the title or description of the video.
Reset Tech, the non-profit group that produced the research, said the channels were part of a global trend of producing synthetic propaganda on the platform. This pointed to the proliferation of cheap AI tools that can be deployed to make quick profits from divisive topics.
A UK channel, News-Night, spoke about Starmer and Reeves facing arrest. Another, TheUKPoliticalBrief, promoted the video on “explosive truths” about immigrant crime and the march on Westminster.
The UK Newscore channel focused on how Nigel Farage was ostracizing Starmer, and claimed that the Prime Minister had been “live sacked” and thrown out of Parliament.
Other videos featured bizarre, fabricated stories about the dispute between the royal family and the government. One channel, Gold Up!, said the controversy had left Starmer “disappointed on live TV”.
Some videos and channels were removed after investigation by YouTube. However, when the Guardians arrived on stage all 150 were removed. Reset Tech said some channels have created tens or hundreds of similar videos without being removed from the platform.
The research found similar channels operating in German, French, Spanish and Polish, targeting other politicians or political issues. In total, it mapped 420 problematic channels operating in Europe. Reset Tech said Russian-speaking producers operate some channels.
It is believed that the channels targeted at the UK were being operated by opportunistic creators trying to monetize political divisions over issues such as immigration, rather than foreign political actors. However, it said their presence still posed a threat to public confidence.
This material has caused concern within Labour. A spokesperson said, “The rise of fake news online is a serious threat to our democracy.” “The public will be concerned that democratically elected leaders and institutions are being undermined by foreign state actors and those seeking to profit from disinformation.
“We have already seen efforts from abroad to influence fair elections and manipulate public opinion here and abroad.
“The government is stepping up its efforts to work with online platforms to tackle this scourge on free and fair democracy. But it is vital that technology owners take this threat seriously and meet their obligations to remove this type of content wherever it is found.”
Dylan Sparks, UK director of Reset Tech, called on YouTube to act swiftly. “YouTube allows malicious actors to spread synthetic ‘news’ that disrupts political debate in the UK, while also making revenue from it,” he said. “This AI-generated, low-cost content spreads across the platform without detection, exposing glaring weaknesses in YouTube’s monetization and content moderation systems.
“This specific network is focused on the Prime Minister and the Labor government, but the same loopholes could be exploited by any hostile actor to advance an agenda. Because social media platforms profit from engagement, their business model creates an inherent tension between enforcing their policies and reducing the spread of malicious content that increases revenue.
“The rapid spread of AI has also introduced new risks into the online environment, and platforms need to move faster and invest more to address them.”
A YouTube spokesperson said: “Spam and deceptive practices that seek to take advantage of the YouTube community are not allowed on the platform, which is why all channels flagged by Guardians have been removed.
“We consistently enforce our policies, no matter what political views are expressed, or how the content originated. Our teams work around the clock to monitor harmful content and take prompt action as needed.”
YouTube is now working with Reset Tech on its findings. The platform said its systems feature authoritative news content prominently on the YouTube homepage, in search results and through recommendations. It has removed over 2.1 million channels for violating its community guidelines.
Ministers have already set up an online advertising taskforce to look at what action can be taken to address advertising-based monetization of harmful and misleading content.
