عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Technology

UK Calls on YouTube to Take Down Videos ‘Doctored’ by Russia

YouTube app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)
YouTube app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)
TT
TT

UK Calls on YouTube to Take Down Videos ‘Doctored’ by Russia

YouTube app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)
YouTube app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. (Reuters)

Britain's Ministry of Defense (MoD) on Wednesday called on YouTube to remove videos from its online platform of a hoax video call to defense minister Ben Wallace, which they said had been doctored by the Russian state.

Wallace last week ordered an inquiry after an impostor claiming to be the Ukrainian prime minister was able to contact him. Wallace said he ended the 10-minute call when he became suspicious about the "misleading" questions he was being asked.

Several clips of the video have subsequently appeared online, showing Wallace speaking from the back of a moving vehicle while he is asked about a range of issues including nuclear weapons and NATO.

"We are calling on YouTube to help us support Ukraine by taking down videos doctored by the Russian state and disseminated to try and sap the morale of a people fighting for their freedom," the MoD said on Twitter.

The department posted a longer letter calling on YouTube, the world's most used streaming video service, to remove or at least block access to the videos in line with the Google-owned company's March 11 decision to block access to channels associated with Russian state-funded media.

It detailed two objections with the video relating to NLAW anti-tank missiles sent from Britain to Ukraine.

"The doctored clip asserts that the UK's supply of NLAWS to Ukraine have "often failed". Our NLAWS have not failed, this is factually incorrect," the MoD said.

Secondly, speaking about the supply of those weapons, Wallace says "We've got more coming, we're running out of our own". However the MoD said this was factually incorrect: "We have no supply shortages".

The MoD did not detail exactly how the videos had been manipulated, but said that in their "modified and edited" form they could be used by the Russian state to support its actions in Ukraine.

"I am confident you would not wish to be a conduit for Russian propaganda or be in any way associated with the potential consequences of this type of media manipulation," the letter said.

Most Viewed

 
 
Technology

Google Pushes Global Agenda to Educate Workers, Lawmakers on AI

This photograph taken on January 19, 2025, shows a sign of US technology company Google displayed during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos. (AFP)
This photograph taken on January 19, 2025, shows a sign of US technology company Google displayed during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos. (AFP)
TT
TT

Google Pushes Global Agenda to Educate Workers, Lawmakers on AI

This photograph taken on January 19, 2025, shows a sign of US technology company Google displayed during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos. (AFP)
This photograph taken on January 19, 2025, shows a sign of US technology company Google displayed during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos. (AFP)

Alphabet’s Google, already facing an unprecedented regulatory onslaught, is looking to shape public perception and policies on artificial intelligence ahead of a global wave of AI regulation.

A key priority, one executive told Reuters, comes in building out educational programs to train the workforce on AI.

“Getting more people and organizations, including governments, familiar with AI and using AI tools, makes for better AI policy and opens up new opportunities – it's a virtuous cycle,” said Kent Walker, Alphabet's president of global affairs.

As Google races to best Big Tech rivals including Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Meta in the AI arena, it is mindful of the heavy regulatory scrutiny it faces in its existing businesses in advertising and search.

In the European Union, Google has offered to sell a part of its ad tech business to appease regulators, Reuters reported.

In the US, the Justice Department is attempting to force a breakup of its Chrome Web browser — though it may shift course under the administration of President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, governments globally are drafting new regulations on issues that could be exacerbated by AI, such as copyright and privacy.

The EU AI Act, which seeks to assess risk and require disclosures from general-purpose AI systems, has received pushback from tech giants that could find themselves in the crosshairs of multibillion-dollar fines. The DOJ has also sought to curtail Google’s advances in AI as a remedy in a federal case that found its search business to be an illegal monopoly.

Google executives see an opportunity to shape the narrative around a technology that has stoked emerging fears of mass job loss.

CEO Sundar Pichai announced in September a $120 million investment fund to build AI education programs. Deputies including Walker and Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer, are increasingly traveling globally to discuss policy recommendations with governments.

“There’s a lot of upside in terms of helping people who may be displaced by this. We do want to focus on that,” Walker said.

Efforts include expanding Grow with Google, a website that teaches workers skills like data analysis or IT support that are meant to expand their career prospects in technical fields. In December, the company said 1 million people had obtained a certificate for the program. It is adding specialized courses related to AI, such as one geared toward teachers, said program head Lisa Gevelber.

Courses alone are not enough to prepare workers, Walker said. “What really matters is if you have some sort of objective that people are working towards, like a credential that people can use to apply for a job.”

Google wants to increase experimentation on public-private partnerships, he said. The leading example so far, he said, is the “Skilled Trades and Readiness” program, in which the company has partnered with community colleges to train workers for potential jobs constructing data centers. Google is incorporating AI education into the program, he said.

“Ultimately, the federal government will look and see which proofs of concept are playing out – which of the green shoots are taking root,” Walker said. “If we can help fertilize that effort, that’s our role.”

In the long term, Walker said he expects a small fraction of existing jobs to be entirely displaced by AI, citing several studies commissioned by Google, Goldman Sachs and McKinsey. Those studies suggest AI will be incorporated into most jobs in some capacity.

As part of Google's efforts to prepare for this shift, it hired economist David Autor as a visiting fellow to study the impacts of AI on the workforce. Autor said in an interview that AI could be used to create more immersive training programs, akin to flight simulators.

“The history of adult retraining is not particularly glorious,” he said. “Adults don’t want to go back to class. Classroom training is not going to be the solution to a lot of retraining.”