The Indian government on Monday announced that it had blocked several “Youtube news channels” and Facebook pages for spreading disinformation on subjects including national security, law and order, and India’s foreign relations. Prior to this, on April 5, the Indian government exercised its authority to silence voices of dissent. The government banned 22 Youtube channels and disallowed their services in the country. In the latest crackdown, the government added 16 more channels to the list of banned Youtube channels, taking the number of Youtube channels banned in a month to 48.
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting blocks 16 YouTube news channels – 10 Indian and 6 Pakistan-based – for spreading disinformation related to India’s national security, foreign relations and public order: Government of India pic.twitter.com/4s5Cx9tCVO
— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2022
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According to the statement released by the government, out of those 16 channels, ten were from India, while six were from Pakistan. According to the statement released by the government, the channels were banned in view of the content disseminated by the platforms, which the Indian government deemed was promoting false information on matters related to “national security, India’s foreign relations, communal harmony in the country, and public order.”
The Ministry deemed it a concerning as the channels had a lot of viewership. The cumulative viewership of all the channels is approximately 68 crores. The Ministry also provided the list of all the blocked channels. Blocked Indian channels include News24x7, SBB News, Latest Update, Aaj Te News, Technical Yogendra, Hindi Mein Dekho, MRF TV LIVE, The Study Time, Saini Education Research, and Tahaffuz-E-Deen. Whereas the Pakistani channels banned by the Ministry include AjTak Pakistan, Discover Point, Reality Checks, Kaiser Khan, The Voice of Asia, and Bol Media Bol. Cumulatively the channels have more than 42 lakh subscribers.
YouTube channels were spreading false, unverified information to create panic, incite communal disharmony and disturb public order in India. Blocked YouTube-based news channels had a viewership of over 68 crore: Government of India
— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2022
In a statement released by the Ministry, the channels were posting fabricated news and made false claims regarding most developments taking place in India. The Ministry found that the Pakistani channels were “found to have been used in a coordinated manner to post fake news about India” and were posting fake news regarding topics such as “India’s foreign relations in light of the situation in Ukraine, “the ongoing situation of Kashmir, etc. The Ministry also posted some of the fake news and inflammatory headlines which the channels posted on their social media handles. One such headline read that “America demands Kashmir from India.”Â
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After the latest crackdown, the government has restricted over 90 Youtube channels since December last year.Â