YouTube Demonetizes 2 Channels Making ‘Fake Trailers’
There’s no denying (or stopping) the AI takeover. AI-generated content is taking over everything from writing to art. Have you heard about the AI-generated Studio Ghibli-inspired art that prompted co-founder Hayao Miyazaki to call it an “insult to life?” Some corners of the internet have been taking it a step further—with fake movie trailers.
These trailers are fabricated for movies, some of which have only just been announced, and in some cases, the studio hasn’t even begun the table read, yet a trailer is already uploaded on YouTube. Recently, the streaming platform demonetized two popular channels producing these fake trailers. But do these channels really fly under the movie studios’ radars, or are the studios in on it too?
Screen Culture and KH Studios Making Fake Trailers
As reported by Movie Web, YouTube has demonetized KH Studios and Screen Culture for making money off AI-generated trailers for upcoming movies, even when no official footage has been released yet. These channels will no longer be able to profit from the content they produce. Whether they will continue making videos for entertainment purposes, as KH Studio’s founder mentioned—creating content to explore “what if” scenarios—remains to be seen, especially if they can’t make any money from it.
KH Studio founder added, “I’ve been running KH Studio full-time for over three years now, putting everything into it. It’s tough to see it grouped under ‘misleading content’ in the demonetization decision, when my goal has always been to explore creative possibilities – not to misrepresent real releases.”
Studios’ Ad Revenues
According to Deadline, Screen Culture’s fake trailers achieved high-ranking results, even for major movies that have yet to be released. In fairness to the channel, it doesn’t post these videos claiming them to be “official” trailers. However, it also fails to mention that these trailers are “fan-made” or “AI-generated” (loophole!)
Nikhil P. Chaudhari, the person behind Screen Culture, claims that most YouTube users know he’s not posting official videos on his channels and thought, “What’s the harm?” about those who were fooled by his trailers. It’s easy to mistake his videos for the real thing because his channel is verified with a check mark, and his videos are a combination of AI-generated content and human-made video clips.
Several studios, such as Warner Bros. Discovery, Sony Pictures, and Paramount, did not file for copyright infringement regarding their legitimate videos used in making these trailers. Instead, they made sure they got a slice of that lucrative pie. WBD is asking YouTube to ensure they receive ad revenue from views of the fake trailers for Superman and House of the Dragon. The same goes for Sony Pictures with fake trailers for Spider-Man and Kraven the Hunter, and for Paramount with Gladiator II.
If movie studios won’t be as vigilant as they should be about protecting their intellectual properties, at least YouTube is making a stand.
