YouTube has shut down two major channels known for posting AI-generated movie trailers, removing them from the platform after determining they violated its policies on spam and misleading content.
The terminated channels, Screen Culture and KH Studio, collectively had more than two million subscribers and over one billion total views. Both pages now display a message reading, “This page isn’t available. Sorry about that. Try searching for something else.”
The move follows months of scrutiny around fake movie trailers on YouTube, which surged alongside advances in generative AI and increasingly blurred the line between official studio releases and fan-made content.
YouTube cites misleading metadata and repeat violations
According to Deadline, YouTube determined that Screen Culture and KH Studio reverted to behavior that violated its spam and misleading-metadata policies, leading to the channels’ termination.
Earlier this year, YouTube had already suspended advertising on both channels following a Deadline investigation into AI-generated trailers. Monetization was later restored after the creators added labels such as “fan trailer,” “parody,” and “concept trailer” to video titles. Those disclaimers were removed in recent months, raising concerns within the fan trailer community.
Screen Culture is based in India, while KH Studio operates out of Georgia. Both channels were approached for comment.
Deadline’s reporting found that Screen Culture frequently combined official studio footage with AI-generated visuals to produce trailers for unreleased or unannounced films. The approach often led viewers to believe the videos were official.
Screen Culture founder Nikhil P. Chaudhari previously told Deadline that his team of around a dozen editors intentionally exploited YouTube’s algorithm by uploading trailers early and rapidly iterating on multiple versions.
By March, the channel had uploaded 23 different versions of a trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, with some ranking higher in search results than the official release. Similar tactics were used for projects like HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series and Netflix’s Wednesday.
