YouTube has been reportedly placing pirated videos next to advertisements for political figures, including President Trump, and large corporations like JPMorgan, General Motors, and Pizza Hut. Insiders suggest that Google, which owns YouTube, has opted to overlook these issues while raking in billions from advertising revenue.
For instance, last September, an ad from the Trump National Committee coincided with a pirated version of Tom Cruise’s blockbuster, “Top Gun: Maverick.”
In another example, ads for Olay Body Wash by Procter & Gamble appeared alongside what seemed to be a pirated version of Netflix’s “Squid Game.” Similarly, ads from Pizza Hut and General Motors were shown next to the pirated Spanish version of the 2025 film “Sinners,” as detailed in a 300-page report by Adalytics, a research company linked to major corporations.
Some of these videos were eventually taken down following copyright claims, including from Warner Bros., but often, YouTube does not refund brands after such removals, according to media buyers and advertising executives.
“They’re profiting from this,” remarked Erich Garcia, a marketing veteran who noticed these troubling trends while working as a paid media director at Quote.com in early 2023.
Garcia explained that she encountered unusual spending patterns in advertising, sometimes directing funds to obscure YouTube channels that appeal to limited audiences. She suggested that about half of the ad spending during a given time was listed under vague categories like “Total: Other” in YouTube reports.
After voicing her concerns to YouTube staff, Garcia later received $50,000 in account credits, though a Google representative did not clarify whether this was a result of her complaint.
Adalytics highlighted instances where Trump campaign ads were displayed alongside pirated content, including a college football game featuring Colorado’s teams last fall. YouTube later removed the videos after the violating channels were terminated.
A spokesperson for YouTube addressed the situation, stating that content identified by their systems is managed appropriately, with immediate action taken against repeat offenders.
Despite these measures, critics point out that YouTube’s content ID system flagged over 2.2 billion videos just in 2024 alone. Interestingly, in over 90% of these cases, the original content owners chose to keep their content live on YouTube for ad revenue.
When asked for comment, the White House declined and the Republican National Committee did not respond.
Similar issues have arisen for other campaigns, like Kamala Harris’, impacting major brands like NBCUniversal, US Bank, and T-Mobile. Advertisers have been wrestling with ads running against illegal content for years. Notably, in 2015, ads from prominent brands like Toyota ended up beside violent ISIS videos. Lyft even pulled its ads in 2017 following a similar unfortunate incident.
Despite these ongoing challenges, YouTube continues to thrive financially, reporting $36.1 billion in revenue from digital ads in 2024, including $10 billion in the first quarter alone.
Industry insiders suggest that advertisements on YouTube often culminate in added complexity, with placement reports that can be hard to decipher due to the volume of data, making it challenging for smaller companies to grasp how their ads are performing.
One media buyer emphasized the difficulties faced in understanding ad placements, stating, “It’s absolutely impossible to get a full picture.” They highlighted that advertisement performance insights are frequently lacking.
Another media buyer attempted to manipulate ad placements on known pirated channels but saw no refund follow a removals. This led to questions about YouTube’s refund policy, with concerns mounting that the focus seems to lie squarely on monetization, overlooking the advertiser’s needs.
Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled that Google has been running illegal monopolies in the digital advertising space, urging for its dissolution to enhance competition.
Currently, Garcia mentions that options are limited, leaving advertisers to absorb losses while still relying on YouTube due to the lack of competition. “It feels like you’re just ‘kissing the ring’,” Garcia noted, with nowhere else to turn.
