Government of India strikes den of misinformation on YouTube
Fact Check Unit at PIB exposes three YouTube channels spreading fake news
Fake videos about Supreme Court of India, Chief Justice of India, and Prime Minister of India with lakhs of views busted by PIB Fact Check Unit
Misinformation on Election Commission of India, Electronic Voting Machines
YouTube channels fact-checked by PIB had nearly 33 lakh subscribers, over 30 crore views
In a series of over 40 fact-checks, the PIB Fact Check Unit (FCU) busted three YouTube channels which were spr eading false information in India. These YouTube channels had nearly 33 lakh subscribers and their videos, almo st all of which were found to be false, were watched over 30 crore times.
This is the first time when PIB has exposed entire YouTube channels as against individual posts on social media spreading false claims. Details of the YouTube channels fact-checked by PIB are as under:
| Sl. No. | Name of YouTube Channel | Subscribers | Views |
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News Headlines | 9.67 lakh | 31,75,32,290 |
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Sarkari Update | 22.6 lakh | 8,83,594 |
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आज तक LIVE | 65.6 thousand | 1,25,04,177 |
The YouTube channels were observed to be using fake and sensational thumbnails with logos of TV channels and images of their news anchors to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic. These channels wer e also found to be displaying advertisements on their videos, and monetizing misinformation on YouTube.
Action taken by PIB Fact Check Unit follows blocking of over one hundred YouTube channels by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in the past one year.
