YouTube channels spreading fake, anti-Labour videos have amassed more than a billion views this year, as opportunists attempt to use AI-generated content to profit from political division in the UK.
More than 150 channels have been detected in the last year that promote anti-Labour narratives, as well as outright fake and inflammatory accusations about Keir Starmer.
A study seen by the Guardian has found the channels have accumulated 5.3m subscribers and have created more than 56,000 videos, with a total of almost 1.2bn views in 2025. The network of anonymous channels includes alarmist rhetoric, AI scripts and British narrators to attract hits.
Starmer is personally targeted. The prime minister was either named in the video title or description 15,600 times.
Reset Tech, the non-profit group that produced the research, said the channels were part of a global trend to produce synthetic propaganda on the platform. It pointed to the proliferation of cheap AI tools that could be deployed to make a quick profit from divisive topics.
One channel called Britain News-night talked about Starmer and Reeves facing arrest. Another, TheUKPoliticalBrief, touted videos on the “explosive truth” about immigrant crime and marches on Westminster.
The UK NewsCore channel focused on how Nigel Farage was ousting Starmer, and claimed the prime minister was “sacked live” and thrown out of parliament.
Other videos featured bizarre, fabricated stories about a row between the royal family and the government. One channel, Gold Up!, said the dispute had left Starmer “melting down on live TV”.
Some of the videos and channels were removed by YouTube’s checks. However, all 150 were taken down when the platform was approached by the Guardian. Reset Tech said some channels had created tens or hundreds of similar videos without being deplatformed.
The research found similar channels operating in German, French, Spanish and Polish, targeting other politicians or political issues. In total, it mapped 420 problematic channels operating in Europe. Reset Tech said Russian-speaking creators operate some of the channels.
It is believed channels aimed at the UK were being driven by opportunistic creators trying to monetise political division over issues like immigration, rather than overseas political actors. However, it said their presence still posed a risk to public trust.
The content has caused concern inside Labour. “The rise of fake news online is a serious threat to our democracy,” a spokesperson said. “The public will be rightly alarmed that democratically elected leaders and institutions are being undermined by bad faith foreign state actors and those seeking to profit from misinformation.
“We’ve already seen attempts from overseas to influence fair elections and manipulate public opinion both here and abroad.
“The government is stepping up its efforts to work with online platforms to tackle this scourge on free and fair democracy. But it’s important that tech…
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