Eight YouTube channels, including one run from Pakistan, with a cumulative subscriber base of 85.73 lakh as well as a Facebook account and two posts have been blocked by the Union government for spreading fake news and indulging in coordinated disinformation campaigns on India’s national security, foreign relations and public order.
The blocked YouTube channels, which had a cumulative viewership of around 114 crore, were monetising fake news content aimed at spreading hatred among religious communities in India by displaying advertisements, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said on Thursday.
The fake news spread by these channels included the government ordering demolition of religious structures, banning religious festivals among others. Such content was found to have the potential to create communal disharmony and disturb public order in the country, it said.
Since December last year, 102 YouTube channels have been blocked by invoking the new Information Technology Rules 2021.
The YouTube channels blocked in the latest action were also posting fake news on armed forces and Jammu and Kashmir.
"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 content blocked...was found to be detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, India’s friendly relations with foreign States, and public order in the country," an official statement said.
Accordingly, it said, the content was covered within the ambit of section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and removed.
The Ministry said blocked Indian YouTube channels were observed 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.
"The Government of India remains committed towards ensuring an authentic, trustworthy, and safe online news media environment, and thwarting any attempts at undermining India’s sovereignty and integrity, national security, foreign relations, and public order," it added.