Twitter in India on Monday banned handles of Pakistan diplomatic missions to the United Nations, Turkey, Iran, and Egypt. This means that the specified accounts will be inaccessible in India for the period of the ban.
According to media reports, the move came after several Pakistan official diplomatic handles posted? Tweeted information which peddles anti-India sentiments. The Indian government believes that the peddling of false and fake information is part of propaganda and conspiracy to create tensions within India.
A few weeks ago Indian government banned 16 youtube channels for allegedly spreading fake information related to India’s national security and anti-India content.
According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, these YouTube channels were spreading false information which was not being verified. They were aimed at creating panic, inciting communal disharmony and communal violence and disrupting public order in India.
Ministry said that 16 youtube channels out of which 6 are from Pakistan, violated various provisions and guidelines under Information Technology Rules, 2021.
Media reports suggest that the YouTube channels had a collective viewership of almost 68 crores on the video starting platform.
These YouTube channels were reportedly streaming information regarding various subjects including, the Indian army, Jammu and Kashmir and India’s foreign relations.
India had accused Pakistan of propagating fake news and false information against Indian institutions. India had continuously pointed out in various international forums with proof that Pakistan was funding groups to peddle phoney information and trying to create tensions within the country.
Twitter India has also banned Twitter handles owned and controlled by Pakistan journalists, who have allegedly shared and tweeted fake information about India.
Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted by saying that Twitter and other social media platforms should abide by applicable international norms while taking action against Twitter handles.
It went on to say that India has blocked the flow of information to Indian Twitter by withholding access to official accounts.
In a related incident, the co-founder of Alt News Mohammed Zubair was arrested by Delhi Police yesterday.
According to Delhi Police, Mr Zubair tweeted and shared information in an objectionable way which can hurt the religious sentiments of a particular group.
He is booked under Sections 153A (promotion of enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) and 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
