7 Indian, 1 Pakistani YouTube channels blocked by government for spreading misinformation

The Centre has blocked as many as 8 YouTube channels for spreading misinformation related to India's national security, foreign relations and public order. The channels that were blocked under the Information Technology Rules-2021 include seven Indian news channels and 1 Pakistani.

The blocked YouTube channels had over 114 crore views and 85.73 lakh subscribers. The anti-india content on these channels was being monetised.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting utilized its emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021 for blocking of 8 YouTube news channels, one 1 Facebook account and two Facebook posts.

"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," the PIB said in a release.

Some examples of the fake news included the government ordering demolition of religious structures; government banning 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 said.

It is learnt that the YouTube channels were also used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc.

Accordingly, the content was covered within the ambit of section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

In terms of modus operandi, the blocked Indian YouTube channels were found to be 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.

With this latest action, since December 2021, the Ministry has issued directions for blocking 102 YouTube based news channels and several other social media accounts.