YouTube appears to be making money from the accounts of sanctioned Iranians

Like the United States War with Iran Continue the roll of the Middle Eastnew research shared exclusively with WIRED shows just that YouTube It hosts and potentially benefits from dozens of associated channels Groups subject to US sanctions Associated with the Iranian government, including many with direct ties to the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

the researchThe nonprofit Tech Transparency Project has identified more than 75 channels that appear to be operated by entities that have been formally sanctioned by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which has been enforcing sanctions on Iran for decades.

Channels are monetized, which means YouTube shows ads on its videos that generate revenue. The researchers documented advertisements for companies ranging from Subaru and Verizon, Turbo Tax, the weight-loss drug Ozempic, and fast food outlet KFC. In one case, researchers observed a US Customs and Border Protection announcement appearing on a video produced by Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts.

“This means that YouTube placed an ad paid for with US tax dollars on a channel affiliated with an Iranian government ministry,” the researchers wrote. US Customs and Border Protection did not respond to a request for comment.

“The numerous owners of all of these YouTube channels include Iranian individuals and entities that are not only subject to the comprehensive US embargo on Iran, but are subject to OFAC sanctions under a variety of sanctions programs, including counterterrorism, nonproliferation, human rights violations, or those of the Iranian government more generally,” Kian Mishkat, an attorney specializing in US economic sanctions who reviewed the research, tells WIRED.

“Google is committed to complying with applicable sanctions and trade compliance laws,” says Google spokesperson Nate Fanhouser. “If we find that an account violates our policies, we take appropriate action.”

YouTube was officially banned in Iran in 2012, but the regime still uses it to share propaganda. Google Publisher Policieswhich applies to YouTube, clarifies that the company’s advertising tools “may not be used for or on behalf of” parties in Iran.

In 2024, YouTube has taken some action, Close the account Associated with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Due to imposed US sanctions, Iranian state-owned channels are not allowed to broadcast on YouTube,” the company said at the time.

TTP researchers searched the platform for the names of individuals directly sanctioned by the United States as a national security threat, as well as accounts apparently run by Iranian government officials, and identified a total of 84 channels. They all ran in-video ads on their channels, including In-Feed Ads, In-Stream Ads, and YouTube Shorts Ads.

Among the sanctioned individuals identified Zanjani chaptera businessman who helps Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps evade sanctions; Ali Akbar my stateHe is an advisor to the new Iranian Supreme Leader who has threatened American forces in the region; And Naji Sharifi Zindashti He is accused of targeting Iranian dissidents Abroad on charges of assassination, including two Maryland residents.

Al-Mustafa International University, an Iranian Islamic seminary Approved in 2020 To indoctrinate and recruit foreign intelligence sources, at least four YouTube channels were used, according to the researchers, including channels in English and French. The channels, which feature video courses and lectures, were monetized through in-stream and in-feed advertising, including ads for BJ’s Wholesale Club and Warner Bros.’ horror movie They will kill you.

Among the government agencies identified as having YouTube channels that display advertisements were: Iran’s anti-terrorism special forces unitWhich was accused of using lethal force against unarmed protesters. Iranian State Broadcasting Corporation, Fars News Agency, the famous Spreading misinformation and propagandaHe also has a YouTube channel that shows ads.