PIB's Fact Check Unit busts 3 YouTube channels for spreading misinformation and fake news

Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) Fact Check Unit (FCU) has busted three YouTube channels which were spreading false information in India. 

As per a release by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday, the channels - namely ‘News Headlines’, ‘Sarkari Update’ and ‘आज तक LIVE’ – combinedly had nearly 33 lakh subscribers and their videos, almost all of which were found to be false, were watched over 30 crore times. 

The release stated that these YouTube channels were spreading false and sensational claims about the Supreme Court of India, Chief Justice of India (CJI), government schemes, electronic voting machines (EVMs), farm loan waivers, etc. among other fake news. 

For instance, fake news such as the Supreme Court to have ruled that future elections would be conducted by ballot papers; the government giving money to people who have bank accounts, Aadhar Cards and PAN cards; ban on EVMs, etc, were being shared by these channels.

The full details of the YouTube channels fact-checked and busted by PIB are given below:

1. News Headlines: 9.67 lakh subscribers with 31,75,32,290 views.
2. Sarkari Update: 22.6 lakh subscribers with 8,83,594 views.
3. आज तक LIVE: 65.6 thousand subscribers with 1,25,04,177 views.

It was observed that the YouTube channels were using sensational and fake thumbnails with logos of TV channels and images of their news anchors in order to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic, the release read. 

This is the first time when PIB has exposed entire YouTube channels as against individual posts on social media spreading false claims, it stated. 

The action by PIB Fact Check Unit follows blocking of over one hundred YouTube channels by the I&B Ministry in the past one year.

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