India's I&B ministry blocks 8 YouTube channels with 114 Cr viewership

Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has blocked eight YouTube-based news channels, one Facebook account, and two Facebook posts for spreading hatred among religious communities. YouTube channels had a combined viewership of over 114 crores and over 85 lakh users.

Ministry said the purpose of the content published by some of these YouTube channels was to spread hatred among religious communities in India. False claims were made in various videos on the blocked YouTube channels. It includes fake news like the Government of India has ordered the demolition of religious structures; the Government of India to have banned the celebration of religious festivals, declaration of religious war in India, etc. Such content was found to have the potential to create communal disharmony and disturb public order in the country.

YouTube channels were also used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc. The content was observed to be completely false and sensitive from the perspective of national security and India's friendly relations with foreign States.

The content blocked by the Ministry was found to be detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, India's friendly relations with foreign States, and public order in the country. Accordingly, the content was covered within the ambit of section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Modus Operandi

The blocked Indian YouTube channels were observed to be using fake and sensational thumbnails, images of news anchors, and logos of certain TV news channels to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic.

All the YouTube channels blocked by the Ministry were displaying advertisements on their videos having false content detrimental to communal harmony, public order, and India's foreign relations.