YouTube Deletes 16 AI Slop Channels Totaling 4.7 Billion Views and 35 Million Subscribers

YouTube's top AI slop channels are disappearing

YouTube appears to have taken down two of the most popular AI slop channels on its platform, along with several others. A report from Kapwing found that a channel called CuentosFacianantes no longer exists on the platform after amassing more than 5.9 million subscribers and over 1.2 billion total views. In a November 2025 report, Kapwing identified CuentosFacianantes (FascinatingTales) as the most-subscribed-to AI slop channel, which churned out "low-quality Dragon Ball-themed videos." The second channel on its list, Imperio de Jesus (Empire of Jesus), is also no longer available on YouTube and had over 5.8 million subscribers. A machine-translated version of the channel's description says it focuses on strengthening "our faith with Jesus through fun interactive quizzes." Kapwing's findings come just weeks after YouTube CEO Neal Mohan addressed the prevalence of AI slop on the platform. In a letter to users, Mohan said the company plans to "reduce the spread of low quality AI content" by building on the system it already uses to combat spam and clickbait. 16 other AI slop channels on Kapwing's list have either been deleted or no longer have any videos on YouTube, including Héroes de Fantasía, Adhamali-0, and Roupa25. Another channel, Super Cat League, is still available on YouTube, but no longer has any videos. Its channel description might give you an idea of what you could've expected: Welcome to [Insert Channel Name] - The World's #1 AI Cat Cinema! 🐾✨In 2026, we are redefining digital storytelling. We merge the cuteness of cats with the power of Advanced Generative AI to create hyper-realistic, emotional, and viral adventures you've never seen before. From heartbreaking "Poor to Rich" sagas to epic feline hero journeys, our channel is where cutting-edge technology meets the soul of a cat. The above channels had more than 2 million subscribers, according to Kapwing. It's still not clear whether YouTube removed them or when. The Verge reached out to YouTube to ask for more information, but didn't immediately hear back. Last year, YouTube announced plans to crack down on "inauthentic" content, and later removed two channels that created fake, AI-generated movie trailers. Despite taking action against AI-generated content, the company is still encouraging creators to use AI clips in shorts and eventually generate their own AI likenesses.

YouTube just deleted over 4.7 billion views worth of AI slop videos

* YouTube removed 16 AI-slop channels totaling 4.7 billion views and 35 million subscribers. * The 16 channels earned about $10M/year; YouTube used spam detection to wipe the content. * YouTube has vowed to curb low-quality AI content, while still rolling out new AI editing and generation tools. To kick off 2026, Google-owned YouTube has deleted over 4.7 billion views worth of AI slop videos, according to a new report from online video editing platform Kapwing. In Kapwing's original report released back in November 2025, the company highlighted the top 100 most subscribed AI slop YouTube channels (check out the graphic below). Since then, 16 of the top 100 channels have been removed from YouTube, according to the updated report. CuentosFacianantes (a channel that creates low-quality Dragon Ball-themed videos), the most popular channel with over 5.9 million views and $2.6 million in earnings, alongside Imperiodejesus (Empire of Jesus), the second most subscribed to AI slop channel, and finally Super Cat League, the seventh most subscribed to channel, have all been either been removed from YouTube entirely or their content has been wiped. All 16 deleted AI slop channels generated over 35 million total subscribers, amounting to 4.7 billion lifetime views, and $10 million in annual earnings. Some of the top AI channels in the list haven't been deleted, but all of their content has been removed. YouTube is likely using existing spam detection techniques to find and delete these AI slop machine channels. Linux gamers finally get official Nvidia GeForce Now support The game streaming platform is on Ubuntu now. Posts By Patrick O'Rourke Deleting AI slop is a welcome move, but new AI features are still coming to YouTube The AI wave still shows no signs of slowing down In early January, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan highlighted the importance of reducing AI slop on the platform in a blog post. "To reduce the spread of low-quality AI content, we're actively building on our established systems that have been very successful in combating spam and clickbait, and reducing the spread of low quality, repetitive content," wrote Mohan. It seems that, at least to some extent, Mohan has acted on those words as far as some of YouTube's worst AI slop offenders are concerned. While this is a positive move on the video hosting platform's part, YouTube is still all-in when it comes to AI tools. Several new AI features are coming to video platform, including the ability to edit with AI, AI generation in shorts, converting spoken dialogue to songs, and more. Adding to this, Google continues to be very focused on Gemini, with the company recently confirming that its AI algorithm will be the basis for Apple's upcoming upgraded version of Siri. Subscribe to the newsletter for YouTube AI coverage Discover detailed analysis when you subscribe to the newsletter: concise takes on YouTube's AI moderation actions, deleted AI-generated channels, and emerging AI features, plus context to understand what those shifts mean for creators and viewers. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. You can find Kapwing's full report on YouTube AI slop here. This powerful retro PC looks like it time-traveled from 1998 Maingear's Retro98 features modern hardware alongside a throwback look that's difficult to resist. Posts 2 By Patrick O'Rourke

YouTube wiped 4.7 billion+ views worth of AI brainrot

Karandeep Singh Oberoi is a Durham College Journalism and Mass Media graduate who joined the Android Police team in April 2024, after serving as a full-time News Writer at Canadian publication MobileSyrup. Prior to joining Android Police, Oberoi worked on feature stories, reviews, evergreen articles, and focused on 'how-to' resources. Additionally, he informed readers about the latest deals and discounts with quick hit pieces and buyer's guides for all occasions. Oberoi lives in Toronto, Canada. When not working on a new story, he likes to hit the gym, play soccer (although he keeps calling it football for some reason🤔) and try out new restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area. YouTube kicked off 2026 by making several new bets -- bets that dictate the future of the platform. Of course, the vision includes (a lot of) AI, but it also includes reducing slop created by the very tool. A task that the streaming giant has already begun executing with clinical precision. Here are YouTube's big bets for 2026 Yes, there's more AI Posts By Karandeep Singh Oberoi In his annual letter, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan wrote that "it's becoming harder to detect what's real and what's AI-generated." The prevalence of AI tools has made this problem critical, especially when it comes to deepfakes. Since the letter, YouTube has aggressively de-platformed several channels that thrived off of AI slop, marking a significant shift in the streaming giant's approach. The development was highlighted by Kapwing in a new report. In its original report, which was published back in November 2025, the platform highlighted the top 100 most subscribed AI slop YouTube channels. Since Mohan's letter, 16 of those top 100 channels have already been de-platformed. The most popular of the bunch was 'CuentosFacianantes,' with over 5,950,000 and $2,657,500 in estimated annual earnings. 'Imperiodejesus' and 'Super Cat League,' boasting 5,870,000 and 4,210,000 subscribers respectively, were the other two channels from the top ten that have been taken down. Imperiodejesus was the second most subscribed AI slop channel, and Super Cat League was seventh most subscribed. Google is trying to clean up YouTube's AI mess after helping to unleash the problem Putting the genie back in the bottle Posts By Jay Bonggolto The 16 channels, which were all generating massive income via synthetic engagement, boasted over 35 million total subscribers, over 4.7 billion combined lifetime views, and a little under $10 million in collective annual earnings. While some AI slop channels have been deleted entirely, some remain live with their entire libraries wiped clean. Subscribe for newsletter coverage of YouTube's AI crackdown Understand YouTube's AI takedowns: subscribing to the newsletter provides in-depth, contextual analysis of which channels were removed, why platforms act, and what the moves mean for content quality and platform trust. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. YouTube is reportedly using its existing spam and clickbait-combatting systems to catch slop. While it understands that using AI to create content can be a legitimate creative outlet, it also wants to remain a place "where people feel good spending their time," and not be bombarded with low-quality videos with distorted voices, nonsensical scripts, and sensitive content. Hopefully, this is just the beginning, and YouTube can maintain this momentum of taking down AI slop channels like it promised early in the year. We'll revisit this later in the year!

How YouTube Is Fighting Back Against AI Slop

YouTube's CEO has said the company wants to reduce "the spread of low quality, repetitive content" on the platform. Science fiction and science leaders alike have warned us that artificial intelligence may one day take over the world, but until those predictions come to pass, generative AI's biggest impact on my life has been overloading my social media feeds with slop. It seems I can't open TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube without running smack into bizarre and troubling AI concoctions featuring babies in danger and cats having affairs. It really is the wild west (or maybe Westworld) out there. I think few among us really believe these videos are any good, and it's pretty obvious they aren't good for us, or for the world. Short-form video is already numbing enough, but this AI content is generally completely devoid of any meaning or substance. And yet, it's everywhere. I haven't spent too much time on YouTube Shorts recently, but in my limited experience, the feed has been chock full of AI, especially if I'm logged out of my personal account. Still, if you're a dedicated YouTube Shorts user (or a frequent YouTube user in general) you might have noticed something odd in recent days: There don't seem to be quite as many AI videos on the platform right now. There are still a lot, don't get me wrong, but it turns out YouTube has recently taken action to remove some of its AI content -- the sloppiest of the slop. Android Police spotted the development on Wednesday, basing its findings on a November report from Kapwing, a company that develops an online video editor. Kapwing investigated AI slop across YouTube's vast content library, noting the top 100 most-subscribed YouTube channels that publish this sort of AI content. In the two months since that report, Android Police noticed that 16 of those 100 channels are no longer with us. That includes the most popular AI channel on YouTube, at least according to Kapwing. "CuentosFacianantes" had 5.95 million subscribers at the time of their initial report, and produced AI-generated shorts inspired by Dragon Ball. The channel had amassed roughly 1.28 billion views by the end of last year; despite launching in 2020, it had curated its library to begin Jan. 8, 2025, so those numbers were racked up pretty recently. The number two channel, "Imperio de Jesus" with 5.87 million subscribers, and the number seven channel "Super Cat League," with 4.21 million subscribers, were also shut down. According to Android Police, the 16 channels in question had a total of 35 million subscribers and over 4.7 billion views across their collective videos. Some of these channels are completely gone, while others simply have had their videos removed. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan published a post on Jan. 21 of this year describing the company's vision for 2026. Towards the end of that letter, he acknowledges AI content, predicting that, "AI will be a boon to the creatives who are ready to lean in," and comparing it to tools like Photoshop and CGI, adding "AI will remain a tool for expression, not a replacement." However, Mohan was also critical of the technology, noting that it's becoming more difficult to tell real videos from AI. He notes that YouTube is now removing "any harmful synthetic media that violates our Community Guidelines," and is giving creators tools to help identify and block deepfakes. More interestingly, the letter includes a section labeled "Managing AI slop," which is the first time I've seen a company like YouTube use that expression. Mohan says that YouTube's goal is to be a place where free expression thrives, but also a place "where people feel good spending their time." To that point, he says, "To reduce the spread of low quality AI content, we're actively building on our established systems that have been very successful in combatting spam and clickbait, and reducing the spread of low quality, repetitive content." Mohan doesn't call out any accounts by name, nor does he acknowledge the accounts and content the company has already deleted, but it's a clear line in the sand: YouTube is not against AI-generated content, but it will remove low-quality AI content it feels is, well, slop. That's good news for anyone who uses YouTube (so, pretty much everyone), even if it's far from a cure for the growing problem. I've reached out to YouTube for comment on this story, and will update this piece if I hear back.

'YouTube Doesn't Allow Spam, Scams Or Other Deceptive Practices,' CEO Neal Mohan Says As Platform Shuts Popular AI Channels - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

YouTube is taking aggressive steps to remove AI-generated spam content that could undermine its position as a top destination for advertisers and streaming viewers. YouTube Deletes Popular AI Channels The video platform shut down more than a dozen popular AI channels, including videos featuring talking cats and religious figures, according to an analysis by Kapwing, a video editing platform, as reported by Business Insider. Some of the channels were drawing millions of views before being removed. AI Content Floods YouTube Feeds In November, Kapwing reported that roughly 21% of videos in YouTube feeds were AI-generated, highlighting the growing influence of low-quality automated content. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said reducing such content is a top priority for 2026. "YouTube doesn't allow spam, scams, or other deceptive practices that take advantage of the YouTube community," a company spokesperson said regarding the account removals. Mohan added, "To reduce the spread of low-quality AI content, we're actively building on our established systems that have been very successful in combating spam and clickbait, and reducing the spread of low-quality, repetitive content." YouTube Pushes AI, Creator Growth The company highlighted that creators were driving major cultural moments across formats, including long-form videos, Shorts, which averaged 200 billion daily views, music, livestreams, and podcasts. YouTube reported paying over $100 billion to creators, artists, and media companies in the past four years and planned to expand monetization tools such as shopping and brand deals. The platform also invested in YouTube TV enhancements, music discovery, and AI-powered tools for recommendations, enforcement, and content creation to support the creator economy. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs