In a shocking development, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has instructed YouTube, a global online video-sharing and social media giant, to take down the channels of three news media - Aaj Tak Live, News Headlines & Sarkari Updates. This came after these channels were declared by PIB Fact Check Unit as peddlers of fake news.In a statement, the PIB Fact Check Unit said that these YouTube channels were spreading false and sensational claims about the Prime Minister of India, the Election Commission of India, the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of India, and other Government schemes.
The YouTube channels were observed to be using fake and sensational thumbnails with logos of TV channels and images of their news anchors to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic, it added.In a series of over 40 fact-checks, the PIB Fact Check Unit (FCU) busted three YouTube channels which were spreading false information in India. These YouTube channels had nearly 33 lakh subscribers and their videos, almost all of which were found to be false, were watched over 30 crore times. This is the first time when PIB has exposed entire YouTube channels as against individual posts on social media spreading false claims," it said in a statement.These channels were also found to be displaying advertisements on their videos, and monetizing misinformation on YouTube.In the last year, or so the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has banned over one hundred YouTube channels for spreading fake news.