India bans 16 Pak YouTube channels for spreading misleading content
text_fields
New Delhi: India has taken action against 16 Pakistani YouTube channels accused of disseminating provocative, communally sensitive, and misleading content targeting the nation, its army, and security agencies.
This decision, prompted by the tragic Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, was based on recommendations from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The banned channels include Dawn News, Irshad Bhatti, SAMAA TV, ARY NEWS, BOL NEWS, Raftar, The Pakistan Reference, Geo News, Samaa Sports, GNN, Uzair Cricket, Umar Cheema Exclusive, Asma Shirazi, Muneeb Farooq, SUNO News HD, and Razi Naama.
The banned Pakistani YouTube channels were identified as sources of disinformation, targeting India's national security, foreign relations, and public order. Together, these YouTube channels had a cumulative viewership of over 6.3080 crore.
According to an official statement, they propagated false and unverified content designed to incite panic, fuel communal discord, and disrupt public order within India.
Their misleading narratives covered topics such as the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir, and India's foreign relations, particularly in the context of the Pahalgam terror attack.
In response to the devastating Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians and injured many others, India withheld the official X handle of the Government of Pakistan.
Following the attack, India initiated a robust diplomatic offensive, summoning Pakistan's top diplomat in New Delhi, Saad Ahmad Warraich, and issuing a persona non grata note for all Pakistani military attaches.
These actions are part of a broader series of measures taken by India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack as a "cowardly assault on innocent civilians".
The Pahalgam terror attack, attributed to the Pakistan-based group The Resistance Front, has significantly heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. In response, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Modi, has implemented a series of decisive measures.
These include suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, closing the Attari-Wagah border, revoking the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals, expelling Pakistan's military attaches from New Delhi, and reducing diplomatic staff at both nations' High Commissions.
