Govt bans 18 Indian and 4 Pakistan YouTube channels for spreading fake news, full list

As per the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, 18 of 22 blocked YouTube channels had their origin in India while four belonged to Pakistan. The videos posted by Pakistan-based YouTube channels were mostly anti-India.

India Today Tech

New Delhi,
Updated Apr 5, 2022 6:01 PM IST

Govt bans 18 Indian and 4 Pakistan YouTube channels for spreading fake news, full list

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SUMMARY

The government of India banned 22 YouTube channels in the country on Tuesday.
Three Twitter accounts, one Facebook account, and one news website have been blocked.
These YouTube channels were using logos of TV news channels and thumbnails with misleading informationthese YouTube channels were using logos of TV news channels and thumbnails with misleading information.

The government of India banned 22 YouTube channels on Tuesday. As per the official statement issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, all these channels were spreading false information, mostly related to the country's national security.

In addition, PIB said three Twitter accounts, one Facebook account, and one news website have been blocked in the country under the new IT Rules. The I&B Ministry said that this is the first time that Indian YouTube channels have been banned under the new IT Rules of 2021.

The official statement states that these YouTube channels were using logos of TV news channels and thumbnails with misleading information. Some of these YouTube videos were also said to be using images of popular news anchors to mislead the viewers and make these videos look authentic and reliable, the I&B Ministry noted in an official statement.

"The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, utilising the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021, has issued orders on 04.04.2022 for blocking of twenty-two (22) YouTube based news channels, three (3) Twitter accounts, one (1) Facebook account, and one (1) news website. The blocked YouTube channels had a cumulative viewership of over 260 crore, and were used to spread fake news, and coordinated disinformation over social media on subjects sensitive from the perspective of national security, India's foreign relations, and public order," the ministry stated in an official release.

As per the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, 18 of 22 blocked YouTube channels had their origin in India while four belonged to Pakistan. The videos posted by Pakistan-based YouTube channels were mostly anti-India.