Despite YouTube and rights holders’ relentless efforts to curb piracy, some users continue to find and upload pirated movies on the platform. However, a recent and unusual trend has emerged: dormant channels, some inactive for over 15 years, or new channels with no prior history of infringement, are suddenly hosting the latest Hollywood blockbusters. These channels are racking up vast viewing numbers—easily in the tens of millions—though the true figure may be even higher.

On April 24, 2007, a user known as “haroldlky,” whose real identity remains unknown, created a YouTube channel. On that day, he uploaded three short engineering-themed videos, totaling just 42 seconds of content. Over the next 17 years, these videos attracted fewer than 400 views in total. Whether “haroldlky” was satisfied with this or ever revisited YouTube is unknown. If he were to check his channel today, he might be in for a surprise.

We don’t know exactly how these channels were compromised or how their credentials were obtained. However, it’s highly unlikely that a channel previously dedicated to math tutorials with a few hundred views would suddenly pivot to uploading Hollywood movies overnight. Yet, in less than two weeks, these unauthorized uploads have already been viewed nearly a million times.

Bigger Movies, Bigger Audiences

While it’s impossible to document every affected channel, a few examples stand out. Some channels might have been created specifically for illegal activities, but in most cases, it’s hard to determine intent from the limited available information. Screenshots of these channels show a wide range of creation dates. For instance, one channel with 117,000 subscribers and just seven videos, created on September 17, 2023, has accumulated 7.4 million views in the past 10 days, mostly from pirated films. Another channel, with only three videos and 6,100 subscribers, was created on March 31, 2007, and has seen one pirated movie, “Fate of the Furious,” gather 582,000 views in just one day.

The Who, Why, and How

It’s still too early to identify who is behind this surge in movie piracy. While there’s no apparent way to profit from these uploads directly on YouTube, money could still be a motivating factor.

Initial observations suggest a possible connection to India, based on various factors, including the nature of the comments on these videos. A significant concern is how these uploads seem to bypass Content ID, YouTube’s anti-piracy system. While older titles or those already in the system might evade detection, it’s surprising that newer movies aren’t being flagged.

One theory involves the manipulation of YouTube’s Content ID system. For example, a Netflix series upload titled “The Gentlemen” (all episodes, totaling 6 hours and 23 minutes) includes a listed music track by “Zoxer” titled “Forward.” This track may have been manually entered or automatically matched, but searches show no evidence of this track actually appearing in the series.

The Scheme: How It Works

Recent updates suggest that these movie uploads may include an embedded audio track designed to exploit YouTube’s Content ID. Here’s how the scheme works:

1. Create or obtain audio tracks that evade Content ID detection.
2. Register these tracks with digital distribution services like DistroKid, CD Baby, or TuneCore, who are unaware of the fraud.
3. Obtain a popular movie that will attract views.
4. Use software to attach the audio track to the movie’s end.
5. Upload the video to YouTube.
6. Wait for a content match on the music, monetizing the entire video.
7. Earn a small profit, or nothing if the fraud is discovered by royalty collection companies.

Viewers have no trouble finding these movies, as evidenced by the millions of views they’re generating. The exact number of views is unclear, but it’s significant—especially considering that under normal circumstances, such figures would be unheard of.

While YouTube isn’t required to proactively police such content, the lack of reports on the sheer volume of these uploads is noteworthy.