Bhubaneswar: Eight YouTube channels, including one operating from Pakistan, have been blocked for allegedly using “fake and sensational thumbnails” and spreading disinformation related to India’s national security, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry informed on Thursday.
The blocked channels are Loktantra TV, U&V TV, A M Razvi, Gouravshali Pawan Mithilanchal, SeeTop5TH, Sarkari Update, Sab Kuch Dekho and Pakistan-based News ki Duniya. These had over 114 crore views and 85.73 lakh subscribers and the content was being monetised.
The Indian YouTube channels used “fake and sensational thumbnails, images of news anchors and logos of certain TV news channels” to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic, the statement said.
The Ministry further said that fake news such as the demolition of religious structures by the government, ban on the celebration of religious festivals, and declaration of religious war in India were being peddled by these channels. “Such content was found to have the potential to create communal disharmony and disturb public order in the country,” it added.
