YouTube, with over 2.49 billion active users each month, attracts more than a third of the world's population, who log in regularly to watch updates, vlogs, tutorials, and various other forms of content.
However, this massive user base might soon see a shift as Russian citizens begin to swap the American-based platform for a domestic alternative.
The Russian Foreign Ministry is actively promoting the use of RuTube, a Russian video hosting platform, as an alternative to YouTube.
"We urge everyone to master this video hosting service and post their materials there," stated Andrei Nastasin, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department at the ministry, during a recent briefing.
Since launching its official channel on RuTube on April 7, 2021, the ministry has uploaded more than 5,500 videos, including live broadcasts of speeches by ministry leaders, bilateral meetings, multilateral events, and weekly briefings.
This push for RuTube's growth comes amid reported technical issues by Rostelecom involving Google's infrastructure in Russia, which could potentially disrupt YouTube's performance in the country.
Sergey Kosinsky, Deputy General Director of Gazprom-Media, assured the public that RuTube is fully equipped to handle increased traffic should users migrate from YouTube to the Russian platform.
According to Statista, RuTube's average monthly reach had grown to 22 million users by April 2023, a significant jump from just over six million in January 2022.
In contrast, YouTube's reach in Russia was 89.5 million users on average in April 2022.
