The Union government has blocked 16 YouTube channels for misinformation and publishing misleading content against India and the Indian armed forces in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. The blocked channels also include former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar’s ‘ShoaibAkhtar@100mph’ channel.
Google banned the channels following a recommendation from the Union home ministry flagging anti-India content carried by these YouTube accounts on the gruesome terror attack in which 26 persons got killed in Kashmir’s Pahalgam.
"On the recommendations of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Government of India has banned Pakistani YouTube channels for disseminating provocative and communally sensitive content, false and misleading narratives and misinformation against India, its Army and security agencies in the backdrop of the tragic Pahalgam terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir," officials said.
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YouTube channels of prominent Pakistan news outlets including Dawn News, Samaa TV, ARY News, Bol News, Geo News, GNN, Suno News HD and Raftar have been banned in India. Also, the YouTube channels of Pakistan journalists Muneeb Farooq, Umar Cheema, Asma Shirazi, and Irshad Bhatti have been blocked in India. Besides these, YouTube channels Uzair Cricket, The Pakistan Reference, Razi Naama, and Samaa Sports have been banned.
The Centre has also expressed strong opposition to BBC’s coverage of the tragic attack and for using the term ‘militants’ instead of ‘terrorists’ in one of its headlines following the Pahalgam attack. Sources in the external publicity department of the ministry of external affairs told NDTV that India’s "strong sentiments" have been conveyed to Jackie Martin, India Head for BBC, regarding their reportage on the terror attack. The Centre will continue to monitor BBC’s reporting, the publication reported.
