We Blocked 747 Websites, 94 YouTube Channels: I&B Minister Anurag Thakur

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting informed that 747 Websites, 94 YouTube Channels & 19 Social Media accounts have been blocked for spreading fake news during 2021-22.

Anurag Thakur, the union minister of information and broadcasting, claimed that in 2021–2022 his department took action against 747 websites, 19 social media accounts, 94 YouTube channels, and YouTube channels that were working against the interests of the nation.

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In response to a query in the Rajya Sabha, Thakur stated that these steps were carried out in accordance with Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Thakur continued by saying that the government had taken action against organizations that were attempting to undermine the nation’s sovereignty by disseminating misinformation and false information online.

In January, the I&B ministry shut down two websites that propagated false information on India as well as 35 news channels coming from Pakistan that were broadcast on YouTube.

Over 12 million people subscribed to the ministry-blocked YouTube accounts, and their videos had received 1.3 billion views.

Also Read: I&B Ministry Blocks 22 YouTube Channels, 1 Facebook And 3 Twitter Accounts For Spreading ‘Misinformation’ About India

Additionally, according to the officials, 2 Twitter accounts, two Instagram profiles, and a Facebook page were blocked for disseminating coordinated anti-Indian material online. 

The ministry used its emergency powers to request the blocking of these Pakistan-based social media accounts and websites, issuing five separate orders in accordance with rule 16 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

The Apni Duniya Network, which ran 14 YouTube channels, and Talha Films Network, which ran 13 YouTube channels, were two of the 35 accounts that were blocked. 

According to the ministry, a set of 4 channels and a set of two additional channels were also discovered to be operating in sync with one another.

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According to Apurva Chandra, secretary of the communication and broadcasting ministry, Indian intelligence agencies had been tracking several social media accounts and websites and had reported them to the ministry for quick action.