YouTube continues to platform sanctioned members who support IRGC, TTP says

YouTube continues to allow content from sanctioned individuals and organizations supporting Iran's Islamic regime to be broadcast on its platform, according to a report by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP).

TTP, a research initiative by the Campaign for Accountability, identified numerous sanctioned entities operating on YouTube. These include Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, cleric Mohammed Mehdi Mirbagheri, and businessman Babak Zanjani, who is sanctioned for helping the IRGC evade sanctions. Also identified were an Iranian special forces unit accused of violence against protestors, Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Iran's supreme leader, and Naji Sharifi Zindashti, an official accused of targeting regime opponents abroad.

Several Iranian state broadcasters, including the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, which has been sanctioned for over a decade, were also found to have channels. Financial entities like Nobitex, Iran's largest digital asset exchange, sanctioned for facilitating payments tied to Iran's "terrorist activities," along with Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex, also maintain YouTube channels. Surabaya Hobby CV, an Indonesian company sanctioned for providing drone components to Iran, has had a channel since October 2024, despite being sanctioned in December 2023.

The report also noted an advertisement on a channel for Iran's Cultural Heritage Ministry that encouraged viewers to apply for jobs with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. TTP stressed that advertisers remain vulnerable to having their ads appear on content from individuals and organizations deemed a threat to U.S. national security.

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Until YouTube cleans up this problem, advertisers will be vulnerable to having their ads run on content from individuals and organizations deemed a threat to U.S. national security.