YouTube has officially shut down Screen Culture and KH Studio, two major channels producing AI-generated fake movie trailers. Together, these channels amassed over 2 million subscribers and more than 1 billion views, causing disruption across search results on the platform.
Previously, YouTube attempted to moderate the situation by demonetizing videos and requiring disclaimers such as “Fan Trailer” or “Concept Video.” However, when the channels regained monetization, they returned to misleading naming practices that made AI-generated trailers appear official, violating YouTube’s policies on spam and misleading metadata.
The channels were known for seamlessly inserting famous characters into other film footage. For example, Screen Culture created 23 versions of the Marvel fan trailer Fantastic Four: First Steps, some ranking higher in search results than Disney’s official content. This caught the attention of major studios.
The decisive move followed pressure from Disney, which sent Google a copyright notice demanding removal of content infringing on their intellectual property. While some studios previously chose to share revenue from such videos instead of deleting them, the potential brand impact led to this sweeping takedown.
Interestingly, Disney is simultaneously embracing AI for official use. The studio recently announced a $1 billion investment in OpenAI, leveraging the Sora model to produce AI-assisted content, which will be officially released on Disney+. This indicates that AI content is not going away, but it will be controlled by the studios themselves.
The closure of Screen Culture and KH Studio has been welcomed by movie fans worldwide, reducing confusion and sending a warning to smaller channels using AI for misleading content.
