Government Bans 16 Pakistani YouTube Channels, Writes to BBC Over Use of 'Militants': Reports
New Delhi: The Union government has banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels including Dawn news, Samaa TV and Geo News, alleging that they have disseminated "provocative and communally sensitive content, misinformation and misleading narrative against India, Indian army, and other security agencies."
PTI and ANI are among news agencies and outlets which have quoted government sources to say that the ban came on the "recommendations of the Ministry of Home Affairs."
The banned channels have a combined following of 63.08 million.
Clicking on a link which would earlier take one to one of these channels now takes one to a message that says: "This content is currently unavailable in this country because of an order from the government related to national security or public order. For more details about government removal requests, please visit the Google Transparency Report (transparencyreport.google.com)."
A purported list of Pakistan channels banned by India. Photo: X.
The ban comes in the backdrop of the terror attack in Pahalgam, which led to the loss of 26 civilian lives.
The Indian government has accused Pakistan of complicity and announced a series of decisions, including keeping the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. Pakistan has announced retaliatory measures, including a possibility of stepping away from all bilateral agreements.
BBC
The Hindustan Times has reported that the government has "initiated action against other social media posts and reporting related to Pahalgam, including by the BBC," quoting a government source.
“The XP division of the ministry of external affairs has conveyed India’s strong sentiments to Jackie Martin (India head, BBC) regarding their reporting on the terror attack. A formal letter has been written to BBC terming terrorists as militants,” HT has quoted an officer has having said.
“XP division will also be monitoring the further reporting of BBC,” he added.
The BBC has responded to the claims by noting that it is its editorial position to use the word "terrorist" only with attribution.
Note: This report has been updated to note BBC's response.
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