The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has ordered the blocking of 22 YouTube–based news channels, four of which were being run from Pakistan and the rest from India, by exercising its powers under the IT Rules, 2021.
The blocked channels had a cumulative viewership of about 262 crore and were being used to spread fake news, and coordinated disinformation over social media on subjects sensitive from the perspective of national security, foreign relations and public order, I&B Minister Anurag Singh Thakur told reporters on Tuesday.
Mr. Thakur said some of them were spreading misinformation on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, COVID–19 and other issues that were directly impacting India. While all the previously blocked 56 YouTube channels were from Pakistan, the latest list comprises 18 from India. This is the first time action has been taken against Indian YouTube–based news publishers since the notification of the IT Rules, 2021, in February last year.
