The center on Thursday blocked seven Indian and one Pakistani YouTube channels for promoting “false anti-Indian content”. The blocked channel has more than 85,000 subscribers in total, with a cumulative viewership of more than 1.14 billion, the Joint Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a statement.
“Some of these YouTube channels publish content with the aim of spreading hatred among religious communities in India. False claims have been made in various videos of blocked YouTube channels. Examples include fake news such as the Indian government ordering the demolition of religious buildings; it is said The Indian government has banned the celebration of religious festivals, declarations of war, etc. in India. Such content has been found to have the potential to create discord in the community and disrupt public order in the country,” the ministry said in a statement.
It added: “The content blocked by the ministry has proven to harm India’s sovereignty and integrity, national security, India’s friendly relations with foreign countries, and public order in the country. Therefore, the content falls under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2000. the scope of the article.”