New Delhi: The centre blocked 45 videos from 10 YouTube channels that contained fake news and morphed content with the intent to spread hatred amongst religious communities, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Monday.
“Some of the videos blocked by the Ministry were being used to spread disinformation on issues related to Agnipath scheme, Indian Armed Forces, India’s national security apparatus, Kashmir,” the statement said.
As per an official statement, the blocked videos had a cumulative viewership of over 1.30 crore and claimed that the government had taken away the religious rights of certain communities. “These channels had content that spread fear and misconception among communities,” Thakur said.
The order which was issued on September 23 under the provisions of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 claimed the content was false and sensitive from the perspective of national security and India’s friendly relations with foreign nations.
“Such cartographic misrepresentation was found to be detrimental 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”, the ministry said.
So far government has blocked 102 YouTube channels and Facebook accounts that sought to create communal disharmony.