Use of ‘Special Power’ for the first time, overnight 20 anti-India YouTube channels closed
The Indian government on Monday banned 20 YouTube channels spreading anti-national propaganda. For the first time, they have been banned on the basis of the recently incorporated guidelines in the IT Act. Along with these YouTube channels, 2 websites have also been banned. These channels and websites were allegedly operated from Pakistan and spread anti-India propaganda in the country.
A source on the condition of anonymity said that Apoorva Chandra, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has written to YouTube and Telecom Department to block this content with immediate effect, as it affects the sovereignty and integrity of India. Is. According to officials, this propaganda was being spread with the help of Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan. He said that among them was a YouTube channel named ‘Naya Pakistan’, which had more than two million subscribers on YouTube. According to officials, the channel was running “false news” on issues like Kashmir, farmers’ protest against agricultural laws and Ayodhya.
Websites being run from Pakistan
Security agencies first gave information about this content, after which the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting investigated. “This is the first time that emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021 have been used to ban anti-India propaganda websites,” a senior official said. The official involved in the review said, “Investigation has revealed that these websites and channels were being run from Pakistan,” the Economic Times reported. The content played on these YouTube channels is not good from the point of view of national security. Let us tell you that 15 of the YouTube channels banned by India are owned by ‘Naya Pakistan’ group, while others include ‘The Naked Truth’, ’48 News’ and ‘Junaid Haleem Adhikari’.
‘Fake videos were played during the farmers’ movement’
An investigation by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has revealed that some of the videos, Article 370, were about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Taliban fighters moving towards Kashmir. These videos were viewed 30 lakh times. These YouTube channels had a total of around 3.5 million subscribers and their content has been viewed more than 500 million times in India. It has also come to the fore in the investigation that these channels had played fake videos about the protest of the farmers. Officials said the decision to ban and block these channels and websites would be placed before the Inter Departmental Committee (IDC) in 48 hours, after which it would be ratified by a committee under the IT Rules, 2021.
