By Abdulla Gaafarelkhalifa

On December 20th, 2021, the Indian government announced that it has blocked 20 YouTube channels in its combat against fake news.

In a press release from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Press Information Bureau (PIB), they stated that they blocked the content in "a closely coordinated effort between intelligence agencies and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting."

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry said that the 20 YouTubechannels, as well as two websites, are being blocked because they have been recognized to be part of a disinformation network, based in Pakistan, with the goal of spreading fake news relating to sensitive topics in India; topics such as Kashmir, the Indian military, minority communities in India, etc.

According to the announcement, the Youtube channels and sites affected are as follows:The Punch Line, InternationalWeb News, Khalsa TV, The Naked Truth, News24, 48 News, Fictional, Historical Facts, Punjab Viral, Naya Pakistan Global, Cover Story, Go Global, eCommerce, Junaid Haleem Official, Tayyab Hanif, Zain Ali Official, Mohsin Rajput, Official, Kaneez Fatima, Sadaf Durrani, Mian Imran, Ahmad, Najam Ul Hassan, and Bajwa.

From the same press release, it was mentioned that one of the biggest fears the government had with these outlets was that they might undermine the Indian democratic system. Information and Broadcasting Minister, Anurag Thaker, subsequently released a video message of the action taken and also tweeted “We have taken strict action against cross-border activities aimed to spread unrest in India by way of spreading fake news and propaganda.”

Even if the reasoning why these actions are taking place are true, India would not be the only country facing similar issues. In the US, it was recently discovered that 19 of the top 20 Facebook pages for Christians are run by troll farms, mostly in Kosovo and Macedonia.