India Blocked 4 Pakistani YouTube channels among 22 over Security Fears

India has just blocked 4 Pakistani YouTube channels among 22 over security concerns. The Indian government claimed that these “news” channels spread disinformation on subjects concerning national security and public order. The banned YouTube channels had accumulated a combined total of 2.6 billion viewers.

India Blocked 4 Pakistani YouTube channels among 22 over Security Fears

According to the government, these channels were attempting to use templates and logos similar to those of credible news outlets. The videos used misleading thumbnails, and titles to gain views and share misinformation about a number of subjects including the Indian armed forces and the ongoing “situation” in Ukraine.

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India had introduced new IT rules last year to control the spread of false information shared on social media platforms. The rules also hold social media companies to account with more scrutiny. According to the ministry, these channels were spreading information against the new IT Rules, 2021.

Last year, the Indian government has also blocked 20 channels. Since December, the government has blocked 78 channels on YouTube and some social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter.

The Indian ministry said regarding this,

“Multiple YouTube channels were used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc. The content ordered to be blocked also included certain anti-India content posted from multiple social media accounts operated in a coordinated manner from Pakistan. It was observed that a significant amount of false content published by these Indian YouTube-based channels related to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, and aimed at jeopardising India’s foreign relations with other countries.”

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