New Delhi: The Union government has told the Delhi high court that its decision to block the YouTube channel of ‘4 PM News’ was because the platform peddled anti-India propaganda and used digital lobbying to promote a one-sided narrative, Bar and Bench reported.In an affidavit filed before the high court opposing a plea challenging its order blocking access to the 4 PM channel, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has said that the content published is “speculative, one-sided and misleading” and has a pattern of insinuating great conspiracy theories “whether in relation to West Asia, Kashmir, Pahalgam, the Armed Forces, Manipur, trade arrangements, or social tensions within India”.“It is submitted that the videos hosted on the blocked channel attributed grave acts to the Union of India, such as compromising India’s strategic autonomy, taking sovereign stand qua its military position under foreign influence, having prior awareness of military action in West Asia, endangering Indians abroad and permitting India’s foreign policy to be shaped by communal considerations at the biggest of foreign states who are in an inter-se conflict,” the affidavit states.The platform had approached the high court after its YouTube channel was blocked in March this year, citing national security and public order. The plea has been filed by channel’s editor, Sanjay Sharma and 4 PM News Network seeking restoration of the YouTube channel and all its content. Speaking to The Wire, Sharma had said that YouTube the email he received from YouTube provided no detailed explanation, only that the action was being taken on the government’s instructions.As per a LiveLaw report, the government, in its affidavit too cited that “nature of the content” that aired on ‘4PM News’ YouTube channel, which had over 8.4 million subscribers, was found to be detrimental to the public order, sovereignty, and national security, all of which fell within the ambit of the grounds referred to under section 69A of the IT Act, 2000.“…the nature of the content published on the channel was not just a few stray uploads, but a holistic examination of the same manifested a consistent degenerative editorial pattern peddling anti-India/anti-Indian Armed Forces/anti-Indian Foreign Policy sentiments across all subjects, time period and formats.“It is also submitted that the content was without any evidentiary value speculative, one-sided, and misleading, whether in relation to West Asia, Kashmir, Pahalgam, the Armed Forces, Manipur, trade arrangements, or social tensions within India,” it added.The government further termed the ‘4PM News’ as an example of “digital lobbying” done through internet platforms that acted as “digital echo chambers” to perpetrate “influence operations”. Sharma had told The Wire in March that its YouTube channel has been blocked only in India and can still be viewed abroad.“In the present digital ecosystem, such dissemination is not neutral, as it is often driven by engagement- based incentives, including revenue linked to viewership and reach,” the affidavit stated.It added that what was historically done through traditional media has undergone a significant transformation and now the same lobbying function is operationalised through decentralised systems through internet platforms. “In this backdrop, the activities of the ‘4PM’ YouTube channel constitute a form of digital lobbying, wherein influence is created through repetition, amplification, and monetisation having direct and irreparable impact on the integrity of sovereign decision-making process of the Union of India,” the government said, as quoted by Bar and Bench. It also claimed that 4PM has not disclosed the revenue generated through monetisation of its content and if the high court were to call for the financial records of platforms, the government’s contention would be substantiated.The government argued that the power of the Union government under Section 69A of the IT Act “has to be read in the widest possible terms as it is designed to operate as an effective tool to regulate access to unlawful information in the digital domain”.The ‘4 PM News’ channel was also shut down last year, during the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians were killed for questioning the government in their videos. When the matter reached the Supreme Court, the government withdrew its order and the channel was restored.The matter will be heard on Wednesday again.