Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Information Technology, recently announced that Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook accounts had been suspended for spreading “false and inflammatory” information.
Right now, false news is a bigger threat than anything else. This isn’t just because it’s irresponsible and spreads like wildfire, but also because it has a greater impact on nation-building than we realize. Another unverified video made its way across Twitter and YouTube recently, depicting violence against the Prime Minister and disparaging statements directed at women in a fake cabinet briefing (animated). Unsurprisingly, this has not gone down well with the government, which is trying to curb the spread of misinformation that is inflammatory.
73 Twitter handles have been suspended, four YouTube videos have been deleted, and a specific Instagram game has been removed.
Minister of State for Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar announced on Saturday, January 8, that the government has discovered and suspended Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook accounts for disseminating “false and inflammatory” information.
“The owners of these accounts will be investigated for legal action,” the minister tweeted, adding that these social media networks will be investigated.
According to the administration, this action was taken in response to Minister Rajiv Chandrashekhar’s complaint. A large number of YouTube channels were also shut down by the government last December. Delhi Police claimed on Friday that they had filed a complaint after discovering a modified video of a cabinet committee meeting in which some people attempted to portray the event as anti-Sikh. Sources indicated that these handles were related to Pakistan in the study. After receiving information about it, Minister Chandrashekhar also filed a complaint.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has ordered that around 20 YouTube channels and two websites be blocked because they were spreading anti-India propaganda and fake news.
The government issued two directives, the first directing YouTube to block 20 channels and the second directing YouTube to block two news websites.