New Delhi:

YouTube Shorts, a 60-second video format which made its global debut in India in 2020, has surpassed a trillion views, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced on Wednesday as he highlighted the global impact of Indian content creators.

Mohan, who was speaking at the YouTube Brandcast 2024 event here, said YouTube has become a platform that enables people to tell their stories.

“Indian creators are making videos inspired by local trends that go on to define global culture. YouTube is number one in reach and watch time in India. And we just passed a huge milestone. Shorts, which we first launched in India, now have trillions of views here,” he said.

YouTube is the most streamed service on Connected TVs (cTV) in India with viewership growing 4x in the last three years, he added.

“These creators and artists have business strategies, writers’ rooms, and production teams. They’re creating programs that people love to watch. And along the way, they’re redefining entertainment, news, and education. And they’re driving growth on YouTube. YouTube is the most watched streaming service on cTVs here,” Mohan further said.

YouTube unveiled a range of new ad formats for cTV and Shorts, in an effort to enhance engagement and augment results for brands.

It introduced interactive stickers and gestures, and animated image ads for YouTube shorts.

It also launched Pause Ads and Branded QR codes for cTV.

While Pause Ads enable non-intrusive viewer engagement during content pauses on the big screen, Branded QR codes extend reach beyond YouTube to premium broadcasters on OTTs via DV360, YouTube said.

“These new ad formats will enable brands to harness the influence, cultural impact and interactive potential of Shorts and Connected TV, while catering to the evolving needs of advertisers,” a company statement said.

“YouTube is where India comes to connect, be entertained, and be inspired, regardless of whether it’s a Connected TV screen or a mobile one. TV viewing in India has undergone a fundamental shift. We’re committed to leading this change by providing the best Connected TV experience and creating ad formats that seamlessly connect marketers with their audiences, on any screen and any format,” Shekar Khosla, Vice President, Marketing, Google India, said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Maharashtra’s cyber police have registered a case after popular YouTuber Dhruv Rathee’s spoof account on X posted an alleged fake message about Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s daughter, a senior official said on Saturday.

According to the state cyber department, the account with the handle @dhruvrahtee had claimed on X that Birla’s daughter had cleared the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam without appearing for it.

The X bio of the account reads, “This is the fan and parody account and not affiliated with the original account of @dhruv_rathee. Not impersonating anyone. This account is Parody.”

Acting on a complaint by a relative of Birla, police booked the YouTuber under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections for defamation, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, and statement leading to mischief, as well as the IT Act, the official said.

When pointed out that the alleged fake message was posted by a parody account and not the one belonging to Mr Rathee, the official said, “We are investigating the matter.”

The parody account on Saturday posted another tweet saying, “As directed by @MahaCyber1, I have deleted all my posts and comments on Anjali Birla, I will like to apologize as I was unaware about the facts and copied someone else’ tweets and shared it.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, has now become the most subscribed YouTuber. His channel has surpassed the music company T-Series on the video-sharing platform. 

The American YouTuber announced his news on Sunday on X (formerly Twitter). In his post, MrBeast said that he has “avenged” Swedish YouTuber PewDiePie. He has also shared a picture that showed the latest subscription figures. 

MrBeast’s YouTube channel has 267 million subscribers. Whereas, T Series has 266 million followers.

“After 6 years we have finally avenged Pewdiepie,” the note attached to the post read. For those who don’t know, MrBeast, last year, extended his support to his fellow YouTuber and said, “I’m doing this for Pewdiepie.”

After 6 years we have finally avenged Pewdiepie ???? pic.twitter.com/V1znbyqw27

— MrBeast (@MrBeast) June 2, 2024

Tesla chief Elon Musk was amongst the first ones to congratulate MrBeast. He  wrote, “Wow, congrats!”

Wow, congrats!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 2, 2024

A user said, “I’m literally shaking and crying right now I can’t believe we finally did it.”

I’m literally shaking and crying right now I can’t believe we finally did it

— greg (@greg16676935420) June 2, 2024

Some said that the text target should be 1 billion.

Next up 1 billion subs

— Enderman (@EndermanonX) June 2, 2024

MrBeast challenged T Series

Last month, MrBeast also challenged the Chief Executive Officer of T-Series, to a boxing match. It happened at a time when T-Series was the most subscribed YouTube channel and MrBeast was inching closer to the music label. 

Sharing the picture of the remaining subscriber count on X, the 26-year-old wrote, “I challenge the CEO of T-Series to a boxing match.” For context, Bhushan Kumar is the Chairman and Managing Director of the music label. The name of the company’s CEO is not mentioned on its official website.

I challenge the CEO of T-Series to a boxing match pic.twitter.com/zanhy2zl8E

— MrBeast (@MrBeast) May 16, 2024

PewDiePie and T-Series war

Swedish YouTube star PewDiePie, whose name is Felix Kjellberg, was the highest-earning YouTuber in the world. He grabbed a lot of attention for his video game commentaries. At one point, he had surpassed T-Series to become the most subscribed. 

Things took an ugly turn, in 2017, after Disney decided to cut ties with PewDiePie. The company found out that some of his videos contained Nazi references.

In 2020, PewDiePie announced that he won’t be posting content on YouTube. At that time, he had 102 million subscribers.

New Delhi:

Actor Sonam Kapoor has sent a legal notice to a YouTuber who made fun of the actor’s remarks in one of her videos. The notice stated that the video, posted by content creator Raginyy, had an adverse impact on the reputation of Ms Kapoor, her husband Anand Ahuja, and their fashion brands.

The ‘Aisha’ actor has tied up with a legal reputation for actively addressing such defamatory remarks, online harassment, and unfavourable reviews on the internet.

Raginyy shared the notice on her Instagram and YouTube accounts with the caption, “She who must not be named”.

“The reported fake post is illegally uploaded content belonging to our client Ms Sonam Kapoor Ahuja,” the notice said, referring to the video where she had roasted Sonam Kapoor.

“These actions are not authorised by our clients. Kindly delete the reported link and ensure that you do not allow your platform to be used for the mentioned activities,” it added.

In the notice, the YouTuber was also told that if she does not heed the request, Sonam Kapoor may proceed with “necessary action to safeguard her reputation”.

Raginyy said that the video, which reportedly got her the notice, was about statements that Sonam Kapoor had made at some public events.

“The video was about dumb statements made by Sonam Kapoor. But in the starting, I said that whatever statements the actor has made, we make similar ones too at times. It is a normal human thing to say dumb things sometimes. I have defended Sonam more than I insulted her in that video,” she said.  

Raginyy had 6,000 subscribers on YouTube when she received the notice. She said that she neither has the resources nor the time to take on a notice by such an influential person.

As soon as the news of the notice broke out, several people on social media hit out at the actor saying that there was nothing “offensive” in the roast video.

Sonam Kapoor recently represented India at the UK-India Week 2023. She was invited to the prestigious event by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

On the acting front, Sonam Kapoor recently featured in the movie ‘Blind’. Marking her digital debut, the film’s overarching theme was aimed at shedding light on the life of a visually impaired individual, giving marginalised voices a platform.

New Delhi:

The government has issued notices to social media platforms X, formerly Twitter, YouTube, and Telegram to remove child sexual abuse material from their platforms in India, an official statement said on Friday. Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajiv Chandrasekhar said if social media intermediaries do not act swiftly, their safe harbour under section 79 of the IT Act would be withdrawn, implying that the platforms can be directly prosecuted under the applicable laws and rules even though the content may have not been uploaded by them.

“Ministry of Electronics and IT has issued notices to social media intermediaries X, YouTube, and Telegram, warning them to remove Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) from their platforms on the Indian internet.

“The notices served to these platforms emphasize the importance of prompt and permanent removal or disabling of access to any CSAM on their platforms,” the statement said.

The notices also call for the implementation of proactive measures, such as content moderation algorithms and reporting mechanisms, to prevent the dissemination of CSAM in the future.

“We have sent notices to X, YouTube, and Telegram to ensure there is no Child Sexual Abuse Material that exists on their platforms. The government is determined to build a safe and trusted internet under the IT rules.

“If they do not act swiftly, their safe harbour under section 79 of the IT Act would be withdrawn and consequences under the Indian law will follow,” Mr Chandrasekhar said.

The Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, provides the legal framework for addressing pornographic content, including CSAM. Sections 66E, 67, 67A, and 67B of the IT Act impose stringent penalties and fines for the online transmission of obscene or pornographic content, the statement said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday addressed the YouTube Fanfest India 2023 and told about 5,000 content creators that he is “no different” and is “just like them”. In his YouTube address, PM Modi said he is “extremely happy” to be among them as a fellow YouTuber. He also told his “YouTuber friends” that he has been observing how their content impacts the people of our country.

“Since 15 years, I have also been connected to the country and the world through a YouTube channel. I also have subscribers in decent numbers,” PM Modi, who has 17.9 million subscribers, 

“Together, we can bring transformation in the lives of a vast population in our country,” the prime minister added.

He said that he has thousands of videos on his channel, but the “most satisfying” for him has been when he spoke to students through YouTube on subjects like exam stress, expectation management, and productivity.

During his five-minute address, he also spoke about “Swachh Bharat”, digital payments and “Vocal for Local”, and asked YouTubers to inspire more people to be part of such campaigns.

“Make an emotional appeal that we will buy the product that has the fragrance of our soil, which has the sweat of a labourer or artisan of our country. Whether it’s Khadi, handicrafts, handloom, or anything else, awaken the nation, initiate a movement,” PM Modi urged the content creators.

“Consider putting a question at the end of each episode or provide action points to do something. People can do the activity and share it with you. This way, your popularity will also grow, and people will not just listen but also engage in doing something,” he told them.

Concluding his address, the prime minister said, “Subscribe to my channel and hit the bell icon to receive all my updates.”

YouTube chief Neal Mohan has congratulated Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) setting a streaming record with the launch of Chandrayaan-3. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), YouTube India said the August 23 live stream of the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon was watched by more than 80 lakh (over 8 million) users, making it the most-watched live stream globally. “Things that made us go woah: India landed on the moon!” YouTube said in its post with a celebration emoji.

“This was so exciting to watch – congratulations to the whole team at @isro. 8M concurrent viewers is incredible!” Mr Mohan said, quote-tweeting YouTube India’s post.

This was so exciting to watch – congratulations to the whole team at @isro. 8M concurrent viewers is incredible! https://t.co/PM3MJgkPrE

— Neal Mohan (@nealmohan) September 14, 2023

The 16-second clip from the launch day has a collection of visuals from ISRO control centre – from the beginning of the broadcast to the final landing of Chandrayaan-3 and celebrations among space agency’s officials.

Also Read | Top Scientist Lists Key Achievements Of ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 Mission

The Chandrayaan-3 lander is currently near the Moon’s South Pole since its successful soft landing last month.

India took a giant leap as the Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully landed on the moon’s South Pole, making it the first country to have achieved the historic feat.

India became the fourth country – after the US, China, and Russia – to have successfully landed on the moon’s surface.

In days after landing, the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover performed different sets of tasks on the lunar surface, including finding the presence of sulphur and other minor elements, recording relative temperature, and listening to movements around it.

The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar mission was safe and soft landing, rover roving on the moon’s surface, and in-situ scientific experiments.

New Delhi:

Over 1.9 million videos were removed between January and March 2023 in India for violating YouTube’s community guidelines, marking the highest removals among nations, according to a report released by the popular video streaming platform.

During the same period, globally, YouTube removed over 6.48 million videos for violating community guidelines.

The Community Guidelines Enforcement report provides global data on the flags YouTube receives and how YouTube enforces policies.

Between January and March 2023, in India, over 1.9 million videos were removed for violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines. In comparison, in the US, 6,54,968 videos were removed, Russia (4,91,933), and Brazil (4,49,759).

“Since the earliest days as a company, our Community Guidelines have protected the YouTube community from harmful content. We enforce our policies using a combination of machine learning and human reviewers,” YouTube said.

Over the years, YouTube said, it has invested heavily in the policies and products needed to protect the community.

Today, the vast majority of creators upload content in good faith and don’t violate policies, it said adding “we believe educational efforts are successful at reducing the number of creators who unintentionally violate our policies”.

Citing the findings of the Community Guidelines Enforcement report on the video removals, it said more than 93 per cent of these videos were first flagged by machines rather than humans.

“Of the videos detected by machines, 38 per cent were removed before they received a single view, and 31 per cent received between 1 and 10 views before removal,” it said.

This means more than 69 per cent of the violative videos first detected by machines received fewer than ten views before they were removed from YouTube.

YouTube removed over 8.7 million channels in Q1 2023 for violating community guidelines.

“The overwhelming majority of these channels were terminated for violating our spam policies, including but not restricted to scams, misleading metadata or thumbnails, video and comments spam,” it said.

YouTube removed more than 853 million comments in Q1 2023, the majority of which were spam. About 99 per cent of removed comments were detected automatically.

YouTube said starting today, creators will have the option of taking an educational training course when they receive a Community Guidelines warning.

These resources will provide new ways for creators to understand how they can avoid uploading content that violates our policies in the future.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)