Govt asks YouTube to take down Aaj Tak Live, 2 other channels spreading fake news
1 min read . Updated: 21 Dec 2022, 01:55 PM IST
Premium- The channels were using thumbnails and images of TV news channels and their anchors to mislead viewers into believing that the news shared by them was authentic
The Centre has asked YouTube to take down three channels for making false and sensational claims about various public welfare initiatives and spreading fake news.
According to the centre the channels spreading false and sensationalist claims about the Supreme Court of India, the Chief Justice of India, government schemes, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), and farm loan waivers, among other fake news. For example, one of the channels stated that Supreme Court had ruled that future elections would be conducted by ballot papers; the government giving money to people who have bank accounts, Aadhar cards, and PAN cards; a ban on EVMs, and so on.
The three channels are Aaj Tak Live, News Headlines, and Sarkari Updates. These channels were observed to be using fake and sensationalist thumbnails with logos of TV channels. Besides, morphed images of the news anchors from authentic news channels mislead viewers. The three YouTube channels together have nearly 33 lakh subscribers and their videos have been watched over 30 crore times.
According to the government, "Aaj Tak Live is not associated with the India Today Group".
The channels were using thumbnails and images of TV news channels and their anchors to mislead viewers into believing that the news shared by them was authentic.
The Centre added that these channels were also found to be displaying advertisements on their videos, and monetizing misinformation on YouTube. They also made claims about the government giving money to people who have opened bank accounts, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards.
The government's PIB Fact Check Unit on Twitter said, "YouTube channel Aaj Tak LIVE is another den of fake news. With over 65,000 subscribers, the YouTube channel spreads false claims about the death of various persons and misinformation about government decisions".
This year, Union minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur in July had said that his ministry blocked 94 YouTube channels, 19 social media accounts, and 747 websites for spreading fake news.
The action was taken under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, Thakur had said in a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
