The Information and Broadcasting Ministry on Tuesday banned eight Youtube channels including one based out of Pakistan for anti-India content. The blocked Indian YouTube channels used fake and sensational thumbnails, images of news anchors and logos of certain TV news channels to mislead the viewers, the ministry found.
In a release, the ministry said, “The purpose of the content published by some of these YouTube channels was to spread hatred among religious communities in India. False claims were made in various videos of the blocked YouTube channels. Examples include fake news such as the Government of India to have ordered demolition of religious structures; Government of India to have banned celebration of religious festivals, declaration of religious war in India. Such content was found to have the potential to create communal disharmony and disturb public order in the country.”
YouTube channels were also used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir and others. The content was observed to be completely false and sensitive from the perspective of national security and India’s friendly relations with foreign States, a release said. The blocked channels displayed advertisements that were found detrimental to India's foreign relations.
According to the release, since December 2021, the Ministry had issued directions for blocking 102 YouTube based news channels and several other social media accounts.
