Govt blocked over 1,400 URLs during Operation Sindoor to curb fake news: Vaishnaw

These URLs included false, misleading, anti-India news content, communally sensitive content primarily from Pakistan-based social media accounts

New Delhi: The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) had blocked over 1,400 URLs (uniform resource locators) on digital media during Operation Sindoor, union minister for railways, I&B, and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.

Union minister for railways, I&B, and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw was responding to a question raised by lawmaker Tejasvi Surya in Lok Sabha. (Sansad TV)

Responding to a question raised by lawmaker Tejasvi Surya in Lok Sabha on the steps taken by the government to combat fake news, accounts, and information during Operation Sindoor, Vaishnaw said in a written response, “It was observed that certain social media handles, many operating from outside India, were actively propagating false and potentially harmful information. Under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2000, government issued necessary orders to block websites, social media handles and posts in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state, and public order.”

“The content of these URLs included false, misleading, anti-India news content, communally sensitive content primarily from Pakistan-based social media accounts, and inciteful content against Indian Armed Forces,” he added.

To combat misinformation during Operation Sindoor, which came about two weeks after the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 25 tourists and one local pony guide, Vaishnaw said that the government had set up a 24x7 centralised control room, which was monitored by the defence forces, government media units, and the Press Information Bureau (PIB) for real-time information sharing.

HT had reported on the control room, internally dubbed as the ‘war room’ at the National Media Centre, on May 11.

He added that the PIB’s fact check unit actively tracked and debunked fake news, propaganda, and misleading content on social media, sharing verified information and taking action against fake posts.

Vaishnaw further wrote that the I&B Ministry issued an advisory to the media on April 26, four days after the Pahalgam attack, to refrain from showing live coverage of defence operations and movement of security forces in the interest of national security.

HT had also reported on July 11 that during the hearings of X vs Union of India case in the Karnataka High Court over the government’s blocking orders, social media platform X disclosed that over 62 emergency blocking orders were issued between April and May, targeting 12,000 URLs and 10,500 accounts.