Govt whips dark world of fake news on YouTube

Spread the love

The busted channels were using the pictures of popular anchors to create sensational thumbnails. The PIB shared thumbnails used by the busted YouTube channels using pictures of popular anchors such as Rajat Sharma, Sudhir Choudhary, Arnab Goswami and others.

Spread the love

By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, December 2: A YouTube Channel ‘Bajrang Education’ claimed that a “top leader died of sudden heart attack which brought a pall of gloom in the BJP”. This channel also claimed that “a scary news has come for the whole country as schools and colleges will be shut”. The Central government named ‘Bajrang Education’ along with eight others for spreading false claims and fake news on YouTube.

The Central government has cracked down against proliferation of There fake news on YouTube. Press Information Bureau has busted another set of nine YouTube channels for spreading fake news. ‘Bajrang Education’ has more than 24 lakh subscribers on YouTube.

In a statement, the government said: “PIB Fact Check Unit busted nine YouTube channels spreading fake news and misinformation in India. The Fact Check Unit released multiple fact-checks in nine separate Twitter threads to counter the false information spread by these channels”. It added that the concerned YouTube channels were found to have over 83 lakh subscribers.

A busted YouTube Channel ‘Sansani Live’ asked the “people not to come out of homes in 22 states, saying that 500 people have lost lives within five minutes to cyclone”. This channel used Arnab Goswami’s picture in the thumbnail.

Giving details of the extent of fake news being spread by such YouTube channels, the PIB said that the contents spread false claims on events which never took place. PIB said: “YouTube channels exposed by PIB Fack Check Unit misattributed derogatory statements to persons occupying constitutional positions including Chief Justice of India, Prime Minister of India, Chief Election Commissioner, etc. Some channels falsely claimed imposition of President’s Rule in certain states,ban on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), resignation/death of Union Ministers, etc”.

The PIB said in the statement that the fake news circulated by such YouTube channels also included claim such as “ban on Rs. 200 and Rs. 500 currency notes, closures of banks, and false information related to the schemes and policies of the Government of India”.

The PIB also said in the statement that the busted YouTube channels were spreading claims related to “natural disasters and deaths of Indian citizens, deployment of armed forces, closure of schools, etc”.

The PIB explained that the false and sensational claims were being spread by the busted channels in their bids to monetize. ThePIB said in the statement that “monetization of fake news on YouTube a serious concern. Use of clickbait, sensational false thumbnails are employed to drive traffic and monetize fake news”.

It also stated that the “Government of India has also previously flagged concerns related to monetization of fake news on YouTube. Since December 2022, PIB has exposed 26 such YouTube channels which regularly publish false information on YouTube. Additionally, over 120 YouTube channels have been blocked by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting under the provisions of The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.”

The nine busted YouTube channels are Bajrang Education, Aapke Guruji, Bj News, Sansani Live TV, GVT News, Daily Study, Bharat Ekta News, An Bolega Bharat, Sarkari Yojna Official.