India blocks 45 YouTube videos citing ‘disinformation’

Based on input from intelligence agencies, India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has blocked 45 videos from 10 YouTube channels which had a cumulative viewership of over 1.3 crore.

An official statement today said the orders to block the concerned videos were issued on September 23 under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

The content of the blocked videos included "fake news and morphed videos spread with the intent to spread hatred among religious communities," it said adding "such videos were found to have the potential to cause communal disharmony and disrupt public order in the country."

"Some of the videos blocked by the ministry were being used to spread disinformation on issues related to Agnipath scheme (short-term army recruitment), Indian Armed Forces, India's national security apparatus and Kashmir," according to the statement.

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