Ministry of I&B Blocks 22 Youtube Channels for Spreading Disinformation

The Ministry of Information and Broadcast (Ministry of I&B) has blocked 22 YouTube channels, which include 4 Pakistan based YouTube news channels and 18 channels from India, for spreading disinformation or fake news about India’s national security, and foreign relations and public order. 

Earlier in January, the Ministry ordered the blocking of 35 YouTube-based news channels and two websites that were engaged in spreading propaganda against India in a coordinated manner on digital media. The ministry has also blocked three Twitter accounts, one Facebook account and a news website. 

The I&B secretary Apurva Chandra has said that the blocking orders were issued under emergency provisions of the Information Technology Rules 2021. The intelligence agencies were closely monitoring these social media accounts and websites and forwarded them to the ministry for immediate action. 

Till now, the government has blocked a total of 78 YouTube news channels and other social media accounts on several grounds, including national security, sovereignty and integrity of India etc.

According to the government, blocked channels were using templates and logos of specific TV news platforms, along with the images of anchors in order to mislead viewers into believing that the news is authentic. 

The government told the parliamentary standing committee on information technology that it issued orders to take down more than 1,000 URLs by March 7, 2022.