Huge crackdown on pretend information! Govt blocks 45 YouTube movies together with one in every of Dhruv Rathi

The Ministry of Info & Broadcasting on Monday knowledgeable that it has directed YouTube to dam 45 movies from 10 YouTube channels for spreading pretend information and morphed movies with the intent to unfold hatred amongst non secular communities. The blocked movies, together with one video of YouTuber Dhruv Rathi, had a cumulative viewership of over 1 crore 30 lakh views.

The content material included pretend information and morphed movies unfold with the intent to unfold hatred amongst non secular communities.

Examples embrace false claims equivalent to the federal government has taken away the non secular rights of sure communities, violent threats in opposition to non secular communities, declaration of civil struggle in India, and so on. “Such movies have been discovered to have the potential to trigger communal disharmony and disrupt public order within the nation,” the ministry stated.

A few of the movies blocked by the ministry have been getting used to unfold disinformation on points associated to the Agnipath scheme, the Indian Armed Forces, India’s nationwide safety equipment, and Kashmir. The content material was noticed to be false and delicate from the attitude of nationwide safety and India’s pleasant relations with overseas international locations.

Sure movies depicted misguided exterior boundary of India with elements of J&Ok and Ladakh exterior the Indian territory. “Such cartographic misrepresentation was discovered to be detrimental to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India,” the ministry stated.

I&B Minister Anurag Thakur stated the federal government has banned and suspended 10 YouTube channels for making an attempt to sabotage ties with pleasant international locations by means of misinformation, spewing venom in opposition to the nation. “It has been completed earlier than within the curiosity of the nation, may even do it in future,” he added. 

The content material blocked by the ministry was discovered to be detrimental to sovereignty and integrity of India, safety of the State, India’s pleasant relations with overseas States, and public order within the nation. 

The ministry has additionally directed YouTube to dam one video of Dhruv Rathi. Sources, nonetheless, stated YouTube has not but deleted the video of Rathi with the incorrect depiction of the Indian boundary in J&Ok.

(With extra inputs from Sumit Kumar Singh)