Government of India busts 3 YouTube channels for spreading fake news.
These channels had 33 lakhs of combined subscriber base.
They were reportedly monetizing from advertising.
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India has asked YouTube to take down 3 channels that have been spreading fake news. And the interesting part is that these were channels with a total of 300 million subscribers. The Press Information Bureau released the list of banned YouTube channel names and here are they:
- Aaj Tak Live (In case you are wondering, Aaj Tak Live is not associated with the India Today Group)
- News Headlines
- Sarkari Updates
Government of India strikes den of misinformation on YouTube
@PIBFactCheck exposes 3 YouTube channels spreading fake news
YouTube channels fact-checked by PIB had nearly 33 lakh subscribers, over 30 crore views
Read here: https://t.co/UekXJ0P5mH
1/2 pic.twitter.com/YpCYUt91GF
— PIB India (@PIB_India) December 20, 2022
Fake news channels on YouTube banned: Here’s the kind of content they were spreading
So, first of all, they had thumbnails and pictures of popular TV news channels and anchors to give it a false sense of legitimacy.
The kind of fake information includes things about the Supreme Court of India, the chief justice of India, government schemes, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and farm loan waivers, etc.
They were even claiming the government gave money for opening bank accounts, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards.
Well, it’s not just about spreading misinformation, but also benefit out of it through YouTube advertisements. Since they had a combined subscriber base of 33 lakh and a combined watch time of over 30 crore times, imagine the extent they must have monetized out of misinformation.
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G. S. Vasan
Vasan is a word weaver and tech junkie who is currently geeking out as a news writer at Digit. View Full Profile
