On December 21, in a press release, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, announced that they had blocked two websites and twenty YouTube channels in a bid to dismantle Pakistan’s coordinated disinformation operation against India. Two separate orders were issued by the ministry, one to block the two websites and the second to block the twenty YouTube channels on Monday, December 20.

In its order, the Ministry requested the Department of Telecom to direct the internet service providers to block the mentioned news channels and portals.

As per the press release, these channels and websites were linked to Pakistan and part of its disinformation network to spread fake news on sensitive subjects related to India. It read, “The channels were used to post divisive content in a coordinated manner on topics like Kashmir, Indian Army, minority communities in India, Ram Mandir, General Bipin Rawat etc.”

The press release specifically mentioned The Naya Pakistan Group (NPG) that is being operated from Pakistan. The network has YouTube channels that have a combined subscriber base of over 35 lakh and 55 crore views. Notably, some of these channels were operated by the news anchors of Pakistani news channels. Some of the websites in the blocked list were standalone channels.

These channels have published content on several issues linked to India, such as farmers’ protests, CAA-NRC protests and more. The press release noted that these channels were trying to incite the minorities against the Government of India. “It was also feared that these YouTube channels would be used to post content to undermine the democratic process of the upcoming elections in five states,” it read.

The portals and channels have been blocked under Rule 16 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, to secure the information space in India. “The Ministry observed that Most of the content pertains to subjects sensitive from the perspective of national security and are factually incorrect, and are being mainly posted from Pakistan as a coordinated disinformation network (as in the case of Naya Pakistan Group) against India and thus deemed it fit for action under the provisions to block content in case of emergency,” the press release read.

List of channels that have been blocked

Four of the YouTube channels were concentrated specifically on Kashmir related content. These channels were The Punch Line, The Naked Truth, 48 News and Cover Story. Two of the channels concentrated on Khalistan related propaganda videos. These channels were InternationalWeb News and Khalsa TV. Two of the channels, News24 and Punjab Viral, were publishing both Khalistani and Kashmir related content.

Five YouTube channels were publishing general anti-India content. These channels were Fictional, Historical Facts, Naya Pakistan Global, Go Global and eCommerce. There were eight YouTube channels that were linked to news channel reporters, influencers and anchors from Pakistan. These channels were Junail Haleem Official, Tayyab Hanif, Zain Ali Official, Mohsin Rajput Official, Kaneez Fatima, Sadaf Durrani, Mian Imran Ahmad and Najam Ul Hassan Bajwa.

The propaganda videos had titles like “Kashmiri Mujahideen Targets Indian Army With Rockets”, “Pakistan Surprises to India on Rajasthan Border”, 50 Indian Spy Hang By Afghan Talebans To Send Big Message To Modi”, and more.

Channels like The Naked Truth, Historical Facts, Naya Pakistan Global and Zail Ali Official were among the top views channels with views in crores. While Naya Pakistan Global had over nine crore views, Najam Ul Hassan Bajwa had over 11 crore views.

References:

opindia.com - OpIndia Staff