YouTube accused of profiting from anti-Muslim content despite policy violations
YouTube is facing criticism for reportedly profiting from content promoting anti-Muslim sentiments on its platform, despite having guidelines that prohibit such material. Channels like Sudarshan TV have allegedly been permitted to broadcast divisive content that targets Muslims, attracting advertisements from prominent brands and resulting in YouTube profiting indirectly from these narratives.
Through its Super Chat feature, which allows users to pay for highlighted messages during live streams, individuals sharing Hindutva ideology have been able to spread inflammatory messages. In a recent incident, popular creator Ajeet Bharti hosted a stream alleging a "Muslim conspiracy" involving "love jihad." During the stream, a viewer reportedly paid to post a message about forming a violent group, which violated YouTube’s policies on dangerous content but remained visible on the platform despite multiple reports.
Bharti allegedly earned Rs 2,100 in one stream and Rs 14,000 in another for similar content, benefiting from YouTube’s revenue-sharing model, where creators retain 70% of Super Chat earnings. This has raised concerns over the platform’s role in monetising hate speech. Critics point to YouTube's lack of transparency in enforcing its policies, especially around high-profile Super Chats, and question its effectiveness in moderating harmful content.
Research shows that nearly half of India’s population relies on social media for news, with 54% using YouTube as a primary source.
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Pune Porsche crash: Mother of accused teen walks out of jail days after SC grants interim bail
Pune (PTI): The mother of a 17-year-old boy involved in the Pune Porsche crash, in which two persons lost their lives, walked out of jail on Saturday, four days after the Supreme Court granted her interim bail.
She is the first among the 10 accused arrested in the alleged blood sample-swapping case to be released on bail.
The others in custody include the teenager's father, Sassoon Hospital doctors Ajay Taware and Shrihari Halnor, hospital staffer Atul Ghatkamble, two middlemen, and three others.
A Porsche allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy in an inebriated state fatally knocked down two IT professionals on a two-wheeler in Pune's Kalyani Nagar in the early hours of May 19 last year.
The boy's mother is accused of swapping her blood sample with that of her son to conceal his inebriation at the time of the accident.
While granting the mother interim bail, the Supreme Court had directed a Pune court to set the bail conditions. Accordingly, the district and sessions court heard arguments from both sides on Friday.
Special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray represented the state, while advocates Angad Gill and Dhvani Shah appeared for the woman.
Advocate Hiray said, "We sought conditions such as barring her from staying in Pune district, a passport seizure, mandatory police station attendance, and keeping her mobile location on at all times."
Additional sessions judge Amol Shinde, however, rejected the prosecution's plea to restrict her from staying in Pune but accepted other conditions.
The defence lawyers opposed the condition of her staying out of Pune, citing her husband's custody and the need for her presence in the city to assist in the legal proceedings. They also objected to the proposed Rs 5 lakh surety and daily police station visits.
"We argued that since the chargesheet has been filed and no recovery is pending from her, such strict conditions are unwarranted," the defence counsel said.
The court accepted the arguments and imposed standard bail conditions, including a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh, submission of her passport to the investigating officer, mandatory mobile tower location sharing, and a ban on leaving India without court permission.
The court has also barred the woman from disclosing her identity for three months and asked her to report to the police station every Wednesday.
