Ministry of Information and Broadcasting blocks eight YouTube channels.

By Apekshita Sonowal

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting releases a press release on Thursday which states that eight YouTube channels have been blocked by the Ministry for spreading disinformation related to India’s national security, foreign relations and public order.

Among the eight channels, seven of them are Indian while one is a Pakistan based YouTube news channel blocked under IT Rules, 2021.

The blocked YouTube channels had over 114 crore views; and over 85 lakh 73 thousand subscribers.

The press release also revealed that fake anti-India content was being monetized by the blocked channels on YouTube

The content published in these channels were mainly 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, etc. Such content was found to have the potential to create communal disharmony and disturb public order in the country,” the release stated.

Furthermore, it has been observed that the YouTube channels also used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc.

“The content was observed to be completely false and sensitive from the perspective of national security and India’s friendly relations with foreign States,” the release said.

It was also observed that the blocked channels were using fake and sensational thumbnails, images of news anchors and logos of certain TV news channels to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic.

According to ANI, earlier on April 25, Ministry of I&B blocked 16 YouTube news channel including ten Indian and six Pakistan based channels for spreading disinformation related to India’s national security, foreign relations and public order.

Below are the lists of Social Media Accounts and URLs Blocked

YouTube Channels

Facebook Page

(Source- PIB Press release/ ANI)