The government of India has once cracked down on YouTube channels and websites spreading fake news. According to a press release issued by the Press Information Bureau, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has ordered the blocking of 35 YouTube-based news channels and 2 websites that were involved in spreading anti-India fake news in a coordinated manner over digital media. As per the release, the YouTube accounts banned had a total subscriber base of over 1.2 crores, and their videos had over 130 crore views.
The Ministry has ordered blocking some Pakistan-based social media accounts and websites. Indian intelligence agencies were closely monitoring these social media accounts and websites and flagged them to the Ministry for immediate action, as per the PIB release.
Moreover, two Twitter accounts, two Instagram accounts, and one Facebook account have also been blocked by the Government for being involved in spreading coordinated anti-India disinformation over the internet.

Why were the channels banned?

According to the press release, the 35 accounts blocked by the Ministry were all operating from Pakistan and were identified to be part of four coordinated disinformation networks. These include the Apni Duniya Network operating 14 YouTube channels, and Talha Films Network operating 13 YouTube channels. A set of four channels and a set of two other channels were also found to be acting in synchronisation with each other.
The channels, as per the release, operated with a single goal of spreading fake news-oriented towards the Indian audience. The channels which were part of a network used common hashtags and editing styles were being operated by common persons, and cross promoted each other’s content. Some of the YouTube channels were being operated by anchors of Pakistani TV news channels.
The YouTube channels, websites, and other social media accounts blocked by the Ministry were used by Pakistan for spreading anti-India fake news about sensitive subjects related to India. These include topics such as the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir, and India’s foreign relations with other countries. Earlier in December 2021, the government had banned 20 YouTube channels and 2 websites for doing the same.
Here is the list of the 35 YouTube channels that have been banned: