"The network of anonymous channels includes alarmist rhetoric, AI scripts and British narrators to attract hits. Starmer is personally targeted. The prime minister was either named in the video title or description 15,600 times. Reset Tech, the non-profit group that produced the research, said the channels were part of a global trend to produce synthetic propaganda on the platform. It pointed to the proliferation of cheap AI tools that could be deployed to make a quick profit from divisive topics."
"One channel called Britain News-night talked about Starmer and Reeves facing arrest. Another, TheUKPoliticalBrief, touted videos on the explosive truth about immigrant crime and marches on Westminster. The UK NewsCore channel focused on how Nigel Farage was ousting Starmer, and claimed the prime minister was sacked live and thrown out of parliament. Other videos featured bizarre, fabricated stories about a row between the royal family and the government. One channel, Gold Up!, said the dispute had left Starmer melting down on live TV."
Anonymous YouTube channels using AI-generated scripts, alarmist rhetoric and British-sounding narrators have produced more than 56,000 anti-Labour videos and amassed almost 1.2 billion views in 2025. More than 150 such channels gathered about 5.3 million subscribers and repeatedly targeted Keir Starmer, naming him in video titles or descriptions around 15,600 times. Reset Tech described the activity as part of a global trend enabled by cheap AI tools that monetise divisive topics. Specific channels promoted fabricated claims about arrests, immigrant crime, leadership ousting and royal-family rows. Some channels were removed by YouTube checks, while others remained active.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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