The Indian government has ordered the blocking of 35 Pakistani YouTube channels and two websites, alleging that they are spreading “anti-India propaganda.”
According to Indian media reports on Friday, India’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry announced in a statement that the websites and channels had a total of 120 million members and were spreading “false news” about former Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat.
“The YouTube channels, websites, and other social media accounts blocked by the ministry were used by Pakistan for spreading anti-India fake news about sensitive subjects related to India,” it said.
According to the statement, these YouTube channels have begun publishing content to undermine the democratic process of the upcoming elections in five states.
According to the statement, some of the YouTube channels were run by anchors from Pakistani television news programs.
It’s worth noting that New Delhi has recently been caught peddling ‘false news’ and misinformation against Islamabad. In the year 2020, an independent non-profit dedicated to combating sophisticated disinformation revealed the newest version of an Indian influence effort targeted at defaming Pakistan within EU institutions.
According to a study by the EU DisinfoLab, a Brussels-based NGO, the Srivastava Group in New Delhi was leading a concerted influence effort to tarnish Pakistan’s reputation, which was magnified by Asia News International (ANI), an Indian news agency.
The goal of the operation was to denigrate countries in the region that were at odds with India, particularly Pakistan and, to a lesser extent, China.
In the long run, the effort aimed to improve India’s global image, allowing New Delhi to gain more support from international organizations such as the EU and the United Nations.
The depth of fifth-generation warfare was revealed in August last year when a sustained disinformation and propaganda campaign by India and the previous Afghan administration to derail the Afghan peace process and attack Pakistan was disclosed.
Many Indian and Afghan social media identities were involved in maligning Pakistan, according to National Security Advisor (NSA) Moeed Yusuf.
To read our blog on “Facebook takes down 31 pages spreading false propaganda in opposition to Polio vaccine,” click here.