Based on the inputs from intelligence agencies, government has ordered the blocking of 45 videos from 10 YouTube channels that contained fake news and morphed content with the intent to spread hatred amongst religious communities, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Monday.

The orders were issued on 23 September under the provisions of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021.

The blocked videos had a cumulative viewership of over 1.30 crore and claimed that the government had taken away the religious rights of certain communities, an official statement said. An official statement said the blocked content included fake news and morphed videos spread with the intent to spread hatred among religious communities.

“Some of the videos blocked by the Ministry were being used to spread disinformation on issues related to Agnipath scheme, Indian Armed Forces, India’s national security apparatus, Kashmir, etc,” the statement said.

Certain videos depicted erroneous external boundary of India with parts of J&K and Ladakh outside the Indian territory. Such cartographic misrepresentation was found to be detrimental to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, it said.

Speaking on the issue, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Anurag Thakur has said that the content blocked by the Ministry was found to be detrimental to sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, India’s friendly relations with foreign States, and public order in the country.

Photo credit: PIB New Delhi.

Earlier, the government had blocked 102 YouTube channels and Facebook accounts that sought to create communal disharmony, Thakur said.