A new report claims YouTube has been running ads for major brands and political campaigns on pirated videos, raising serious concerns about copyright violations and ad transparency.
According to a 300-page investigation by Adalytics, YouTube has served high-value ads on unauthorized uploads of popular movies and shows – including content from Netflix and major Hollywood studios – while allegedly turning a blind eye to the issue.
Ads from the Trump National Committee, Procter & Gamble, Pizza Hut, JPMorgan, and General Motors were reportedly shown before or alongside pirated content. One cited example includes a Trump campaign ad served on a bootleg version of Top Gun: Maverick, while another saw Olay ads running before a Russian-language version of Netflix’s Squid Game.
In June, pirated footage of the 2025 film Sinners was shown with ads for Pizza Hut and GM. Political spots for Trump’s campaign also appeared alongside bootleg college football games, including a 2024 matchup between Colorado and Colorado State.
The report claims that thousands of these videos have “likely collectively generated over a billion views and likely several billions of ad impressions.”
YouTube accused of ‘pocketing money’ from ads on pirated content
Marketing executive Erich Garcia, formerly head of paid media at Quote.com, told the New York Post that YouTube seemed to be profiting from the ad placements.
“They are pocketing the money and continuing on,” he said, pointing out that obscure foreign-language channels with minimal followings were somehow racking up thousands in ad spend within minutes.
Garcia claimed that as much as 50% of Quote’s ad spend showed up under vague “Total: other” labels in YouTube’s analytics reports, with no clear breakdown. One presentation Garcia gave to YouTube revealed nearly $300,000 in ad spend was unaccounted for. YouTube later issued a $50,000 credit, but offered no direct acknowledgment of wrongdoing.
A YouTube spokesperson responded to the report, claiming its Content ID system had flagged the infringing videos and banned the responsible channels. “When we become aware of channels that repeatedly upload content they don’t own, we terminate the channel,” the rep said. “If ads were running on this content, we credit the advertiser.”
YouTube said that in 2024, Content ID flagged more than 2.2 billion videos, and in over 90% of cases, rightsholders chose to monetize their content rather than take it down.
Still, the Adalytics report suggests YouTube’s automated systems and oversight may not be enough to prevent the platform from profiting off piracy at the expense of advertisers and creators.
In fact, the report even says that some of these accounts uploading pirated content have received YouTube Creator Awards despite posting full Family Guy episodes and Disney movies.
Meanwhile, the Google-owned video platform has continued to find more ways to serve up ads to viewers.
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