Twenty YouTube Channels and two websites have been blocked for spreading anti-India propaganda, the Centre said today after a coordinated effort between intelligence agencies and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Most of the content were on sensitive subjects linked to national security and are factually incorrect, the ministry said in a statement.
The channels and websites belong to a "coordinated disinformation network operating from Pakistan and spreading fake news about various sensitive subjects related to India", the government said.
They were used to post divisive content on topics like Kashmir, Indian Army, minority communities in India, Ram Mandir, General Bipin Rawat, etc, the government said.
"Efforts are being made from across the border to spread fear and confusion through fake news and anti-India content," said Information and Broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur in a video message.
"Action has been taken against them under the IT rules so that the agenda that Pakistan carries out against India (is blunted)... Strict action has been taken against them so that such forces do not work against India," he said.
The disinformation campaign was run from Pakistan under the Naya Pakistan Group, by anchors of Pakistani news channels. The other YouTube channels were standalone. Together, they have a subscriber base of over 35 lakh and their videos had over 55 crore views.
"The Naya Pakistan Group was running 15 channels," Mr Thakur said. "There were five standalone cannels and two web portals. They were violating rules so a strong investigation was conducted," he added.
The blocked channels -- whose list and spurious content screenshots were shared by the ministry -- included The Punch Line, International Web News, The Naked Truth, Fictional, 48 News, Historical Facts and Cover Story.
The YouTube channels had also posted content on issues such as the farmers' protest, protests related to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and tried to incite the minorities against the Government of India, the government said.
There was concern too that these channels will be used to post content to "undermine the democratic process" in the coming elections in five states, the Centre said.
The order was the first by the ministry under the new information technology rules that were put in place in February.
The Ministry said it has acted to "secure the information space in India, and utilized emergency powers under the Rule 16 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021".
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