Google has removed content from 39 YouTube channels which 13,466 total US views on "relevant videos", 6 blogs on Blogger and 13 Google+ accounts. This was done after it discovered a misinformation campaign across these services and found evidence that the activity was backed by Iranian state actors. Google said that these type of "influence operations" were targeting political campaigns, journalists, activists, and academics located around the world and violated its policies. It claims to use methods including IP blocking to prevent these users from creating advertising accounts. What Google's investigation has revealed so far The company has been investigating the influence attacks for the last two months with cybersecurity firm FireEye, which also helped unravel a similar influence campaign on Facebook and Instagram last week. Google identified evidence (such as domain ownership, account metadata and subscriber information) that the users behind these influence attacks were tied to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). The influence attack has been ongoing since "at least January 2017," according to Google. Out the accounts suspended, FireEye identified 3 Gmail accounts, 3 YouTube channels, and 3 Google+ accounts. Unlike Facebook, Google has not disclosed who or what the target(s) of these influence were, and where these accounts operated. It has also not furnished any details on the exact nature of activity these accounts were involved in, and if they were specifically targeting elections anywhere in the world, or in the US this November. In addition to Iranian influence campaigns, Google says it has continued to act against…
