Crackdown! 45 HATE videos blocked by India on 10 YouTube channels; had over 1 crore views

India has ordered YouTube to block around 45 hate videos from 10 YouTube channels immediately for spreading misinformation, hate speech, and communal hatred. Shockingly, these blocked videos had cumulative views of over 1 crore 30 lakh. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a press release that the content aimed at promoting fake news with the help of morphed videos with the intent to spread hatred among religious communities.

"Based on the inputs from intelligence agencies, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has directed YouTube to block 45 YouTube videos from 10 YouTube channels,” MIB mentioned in a press release. However, the orders to block the concerned videos were issued on September 23, 2022, under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021.

Why Indian government blocked 45 YouTube videos

Some of the examples of these blocked videos on YouTube include fraudulent claims such as the Government's removal of several communities' religious freedoms, violent threats made against religious groups, the declaration of civil war in India, etc. It was discovered that these videos could disrupt national public order and had the potential to cause communal disharmony.

The Ministry restricted some of the videos because they were being used to promote false information about the Agnipath plan, the Indian Armed Forces, India's national security system, Kashmir, etc. In terms of national security and India's good relations with other States, the content was found to be incorrect. Not just that, some of these videos showed inaccurate external boundaries of India with parts of J&K and Ladakh outside the Indian territory. Such misrepresentation of Indian boundaries has the potential to cause harm to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.

“The content blocked by the Ministry was found to be detrimental to sovereignty and integrity of India, 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,” Ministry said in a statement.