The Press Information Bureau's fact check unit, set up to take cognisance of fake news, has responded to over 31,000 queries so far, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

A Fact Check Unit was established under Press Information Bureau in November 2019, which takes cognizance of fake news both suo motu and by way of queries sent by citizens on its portal or through e-mail and social media.?The unit responds to the relevant queries with correct and updated information.?

Responding to a question raised in the Lower House, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said, "PIB Fact Check Unit has responded to 31,174 actionable queries till date."

To a question on government initiatives to ban substandard online channels broadcasting fake news, he said news publishers on digital media are covered under Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, notified on February 25, 2021, under Information Technology Act, 2000.

"Part-III of these Rules provides for blocking of content of such news publishers for violation of Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.?

"Invoking these provisions, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has ordered blocking of 56 YouTube based news channels and their social media accounts for public access in 2021 and 2022," he told the House.

However, the minister said the government does not maintain state-wise data on instances of fake news. The government addresses the issues of fake news and takes suitable action, including fact-checks, under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, Thakur added.?

With PTI inputs.