Press Council Nepal takes action against 31 YouTubers for code violations
KATHMANDU: Press Council Nepal has taken action against 31 YouTubers (both individuals and companies) over the past 15 days for disseminating content that breaches the Journalist Code of Conduct.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday, the Press Council Nepal shared that it had taken action against these erring YouTubers, whether registered with the Council as media or not. The Council, addressing media and media persons violating the code of conduct and journalistic ethics, stated that some YouTube channels' content inciting conflict, character assassination, and spreading one-sided information faced action.
The Council directed three YouTube channels and their operators listed as media in the Council to edit and remove content that contradicts the code of conduct, suspend adverse content, provide clarification within 24 hours, and immediately remove obscene content, according to the press statement. The Council issued directives to Hello TV Nepal Facebook Page, PNP Media, and NAGARIKPATRA YouTube Channel.
The statutory body also took action against YouTube channels and their operators for disseminating misleading, undignified, obscene content with exaggerated headlines inciting violence, terror, and rumours. Similarly, the Council has sent a letter to Nepal Police's Cyber Bureau to take action and further investigate 28 YouTube channels not related to media but disseminating obscene content in the style of media.
The Council shared that it punished a total of 43 erring YouTubers in the last fiscal year 2023/24. "The Press Council Nepal has been monitoring the content of social media, especially YouTubers, irrespective of their affiliation with media," read the statement. The statement said that the Council's attention had been drawn to the transmission of content that incites conflict, violence, and terror, and content with abusive language and dissemination of content without factual confirmation to unnaturally increase viewership.
Meanwhile, Press Council Nepal Chairman Balkrishna Basnet said that the erring YouTubers were penalised according to separate standards. "Content that is baseless, one-sided, and misleading cannot be disseminated through any digital platforms. We have started taking action against those erring media and have been directing them to correct or edit the false content transmitted by those media," Basnet mentioned. According to him, the Council has issued separate standards and guidelines to regulate and take action against erring YouTubers. He said that the focus should be on promoting the media sector by making the best use of social media instead of misusing it.
By RSS
