Indian crackdown on Pakistani propaganda; 20 Pak-operated YouTube channels, 2 websites shut down
By Team Newsable | First Published Dec 21, 2021, 5:59 PM ISTThe modus operandi of the anti-India disinformation campaign, which was meticulously tracked down by the intelligence agencies and the I&B ministry, involved the Naya Pakistan Group (NPG) operating from Pakistan.
In a major crackdown on the online anti-India hate campaign, India's Information and Broadcasting Ministry has shut down 20 channels on YouTube and two websites that were being operated from Pakistan and were indulging his spreading propaganda against India and generating fake news on the Internet.
The modus operandi of the anti-India disinformation campaign, which was meticulously tracked down by the intelligence agencies and the I&B ministry, involved the Naya Pakistan Group (NPG) operating from Pakistan. The NPG comprised a network of YouTube channels and some standalone channels.
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Some of the YouTube channels of the Naya Pakistan Group were being operated by anchors of Pakistani news channels. The YouTube channels and web portals were part of a disinformation network that was spreading fake news on many sensitive subjects related to India. The Pakistan-based channels used the YouTube platform to share divisive content on subjects like farm laws, Chinese faceoff with India, Kashmir, Indian Army, General Bipin Rawat, minorities in India and Ram Mandir
These YouTube channels also shared propaganda material on topics like protests related to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Attempts were made to peddle fake narratives to incite the minorities against the Indian government. Intelligence agencies also noted how these YouTube channels were engaged in posting content that was aimed at undermining the democratic process of the upcoming elections.
The government, in a statement, said that action was initiated using emergency powers under Rule 16 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 to secure the information space in India. The use of the emergency powers was necessitated by the fact that mostly the content dealt with subjects that are sensitive from the viewpoint of national security and are factually incorrect. Besides, there was also confirmation that the coordinated disinformation network (similar to Naya Pakistan Group) was being operated from Pakistan.
The YouTube channels that have been blocked are:
The Punch Line
InternationalWeb News
Khalsa TV
The Naked Truth
News24
48 News
Fictional
Historical Facts
Punjab Viral
Naya Pakistan Global
Cover Story
Go Global eCommerce
Junaid Haleem Official
Tayyab Hanif
Zain Ali Official
Mohsin Rajput
Kaneez Fatima
Sadaf Durrani
Mian Imran Ahmad
Najam Ul Hassan Bajwa
The total number of subscribers on these YouTube channels stood at 37,52,898 while the overall views on them were 58,68,07,175.
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