Chennai: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has ordered the blocking of 35 YouTube channels and two websites which were running anti-India propaganda and spreading fake news ‘in a coordinated manner’.
Vikram Sahay, Joint Secretary (P&A), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting informed, ‘The common factor amongst all these accounts have been that they operate from Pakistan and spread fake anti-India news and other content.’
Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra said the order was issued on Thursday using emergency powers under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. He said the intermediaries, including YouTube, were in the process of blocking the channels, something which takes around 24 hours.
Terming it a ‘war of misinformation against the country’, Chandra said the latest channels to be blocked were the second set, after 20 were blocked in December 2021. He said the content was against the sovereignty of the country.
‘The blocked accounts have contents on Indian Armed Forces, Kashmir, India’s foreign relation with other countries and the death of former CDS Bipin Rawat,’ said the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.