Nine YouTube channels busted for spreading fake news, made false claims about Prime Minister and EVMs

Nine YouTube channels spreading fake news have been busted. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Friday said that the Fact Finding Unit (FCU) of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has identified these YouTube channels spreading fake news and misinformation in India.

According to the list released by the ministry, these YouTube channels include 'Bharat Ekta News', 'Bajrang Education', 'BJ News', 'Sansani Live TV', 'GVT News', 'Daily Study', 'Ab Bolega Bharat', 'Sarkari Yojana Official' and 'Aapke Guruji'. The number of subscribers of these channels ranges from 11,700 to 34.70 lakh. FCU has issued several fact findings to expose the truth about the false news spread by these channels.

These YouTube channels made derogatory statements against persons holding constitutional positions, including the Chief Justice of India, the Prime Minister, and the Chief Election Commissioner, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said some channels made false claims about the imposition of the President's rule in some states, the ban on electronic voting machines (EVMs), the resignation/death of Union ministers, etc.

The ministry said that some of them had claimed to have false information related to the ban on Rs 200 and Rs 500 notes, the closure of banks, and schemes and policies of the Government of India.

The ministry also said that false claims related to natural disasters and deaths of Indian citizens, deployment of armed forces, closure of schools, etc. were also made by some of the nine YouTube channels busted by the fact-checking unit of PIB.