Indian Government Orders Blocking of 22 YouTube-Based News Channels

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has directed the blocking of 22 YouTube-based news channels

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These 22 news channels, of which four are from Pakistan, allegedly spreading fake news to mislead viewers.

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This is the first time that action has been taken against the Indian YouTube-based news publishers since the notification of the IT Rules, 2021 in February last year

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Ministry issued an order on Monday to block 22 YouTube channels, three Twitter accounts, one Facebook account and one news website.

The blocked YouTube channels had a cumulative viewership of over 260 crore and they were spreading fake news.

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Multiple YouTube channels were used to post “fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc.”

The ministry said that the blocked Indian YouTube channels were using templates and logos of certain TV news channels, including images of their news anchors.