PIB Accuses YouTube Channel of Spreading Fake News About Election Commission, PM Modi, CJI

The government has accused a YouTube channel called News Headlines of spreading fake news against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Supreme Court of India, the Chief Justice of India, and the Election Commission. According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the YouTube channel reportedly has 10 lakh subscribers and 32 crore views.

"A #YouTube channel 'News Headlines' with almost 10 lakh subscribers and 32 crore views has been found to be propagating #FakeNews about the Prime Minister, Supreme Court of India, Chief Justice of India, and the Election Commission of India," the PIB Fact check handle tweeted.

The YouTube channel has been accused of spreading fake news like "elections would be held on ballot paper following the orders of the Chief Justice of India." It has also spread fake news like re-election will be held for 131 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.

Earlier, it had also claimed that Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has resigned from the BJP and has joined the Congress.

The fact-checking team of the nodal agency communicates to the media on behalf of the Government of India. It works to identify fake news doing rounds on social media and the channels associated with them to warn people against believing them.

Earlier this month, YouTube revealed that it removed 5.6 million (56 lakh) videos from its platform in the month of July and September for violating the platform's community guidelines.

The platform received roughly 2,71,000 removal appeals during the two months. Upon review, it reinstated about 29,000 appeals, YouTube said at the time. YouTube also tracks the number of appeals submitted by creators in response to videos that are removed, as this helps gain a clearer understanding of the accuracy of its systems, according to the company.