India BANS 4 Pakistan YouTube channels, 18 others; read full list of banned YouTube channels

India has just banned 4 Pakistan YouTube channels on the allegations they were spreading fake news and misinformation that could affect “national security, foreign relations and public order”. The ban on Pakistan YouTube channels was directed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting which blocked a total of 22 YouTube channels. The other 18 channels belonged to various other publishers. The decision was taken in accordance with emergency powers of the IT Rules, 2021. So far, the government has issued bans on 78 YouTube channels but this is the first time action has been taken against Indian YouTube channels.

Explaining the decision, the Ministry said that the YouTube channels were posting “fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc.”. Interestingly, the decision comes less than 24 hours after the Karauli riots in Rajasthan where communal violence took place. The Ministry stated that it suspected organized behavior noticing the content posted from these channels. It said, “The content ordered to be blocked also included certain anti-India content posted from multiple social media accounts operated in a coordinated manner from Pakistan”.

India bans 4 Pakistani, 18 Indian YouTube channels

The entire operation was not limited to just the 22 YouTube accounts. The Ministry also banned three Twitter accounts, one Facebook account and one news website, all relating to the same offense of spreading misinformation and fake news. The problem of fake news has been rising a lot, with different platforms taking countermeasures to stop its spread. Just a few days ago, WhatsApp banned almost 1.5 million Indian accounts due to spreading fake messages, spams and other reports.

The list of blocked Pakistani Youtube channels include:

DuniyaMeryAagy,

Ghulam NabiMadni,

HAQEEQAT TV,

HAQEEQAT TV 2.0

The Ministry has also issued orders to ban the Twitter and Facebook accounts of the DuniyaMeryAagy. The Twitter accounts of Ghulam NabiMadni and HAQEEQAT TV have been blocked as well.

Here's the full list of 18 other YouTube channels that were banned today:

iARP News

AOP News

LDC News

SarkariBabu

SS ZONE Hindi

Smart News

News23Hindi

Online Khabar

DP news

PKB News

KisanTak

Borana News

Sarkari News Update

Bharat Mausam

RJ ZONE 6

Exam Report

Digi Gurukul

Dinbhar ki khabrein

“It was observed that a significant amount of false content published by these Indian YouTube based channels related to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, and aimed at jeopardising India’s foreign relations with other countries,” the Ministry stated.

The reach of these YouTube channels were also quite deep with the Ministry revealing that the cumulative viewership of the banned YouTube channels crossed 260 crore. With a high viewership, the government was concerned from the perspective of national security, India's foreign relations, and public order.