The New York Times report is about “723 Internet Years Old” (think 4 human years) that a YouTube VP joined a state-backed Russian news channel “RT anchor in a studio, where he praised RT for bonding with viewers by providing “authentic” content instead of “agendas or propaganda.”” The October 23, 2017 report entitled “Russia’s Favored Outlet Is an Online News Giant. YouTube Helped” included these comments:
…now, as investigators in Washington examine the scope and reach of Russian interference in United States politics, the once-cozy relationship between RT and YouTube is drawing closer scrutiny.
YouTube — the world’s most-visited video site, owned by one of the most powerful and influential corporations in America — played a crucial role in helping build and expand RT, an organization that the American intelligence community has described as the Kremlin’s “principal international propaganda outlet” and a key player in Russia’s information warfare operations around the world.
Also Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia and vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia’s exploitation of social media platforms based in the United States made these statements:
More than half of American adults say they watch YouTube, and younger viewers are moving to YouTube at staggering numbers,”
YouTube is a target-rich environment for any disinformation campaign — Russian or otherwise — that represents a long-term, next-generation challenge.
This is hardly startling given YouTube’s role in Internet!