NEW DELHI: India has blocked 16 more YouTube news channels including six based in Pakistan for spreading fake news on matters related to national security, India’s foreign relations, communal harmony in the country, and public order, a statement by the ministry of information and broadcasting said on Monday.
Two orders to block the 16 channels, which have a cumulative viewership, of 680 million, were issued on Friday, the statement said. This is the fourth instance of the government blocking YouTube channels for spreading misinformation under the IT rules that came into force in February 2021. Since December, 78 YouTube channels have been blocked, most of them linked to Pakistan, have been taken down.
The ministry said none of the digital news publishers had furnished information to the ministry under rule 18 of the IT Rules that mandates publishers of news and current affairs content, and online curated content in India to inform the ministry about its operation and file monthly compliance reports on grievances received by them.
“The content published by some of the India based YouTube channels referred to a community as terrorists, and incited hatred among the members of various religious communities. Such content was found to have the potential to create communal disharmony, and disturb public order,” the ministry said in its statement.
It added that multiple India-based YouTube channels were observed to publish unverified news and videos having the potential to create...
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