Press bodies demand restoration of ‘4 PM’ News YouTube channel

Representative image
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Press bodies on Wednesday (April 30, 2025) demanded that the Union government, in the “interests of transparency”, disclose the full reasons for blocking ‘4 PM’ News and its multi-lingual channels on YouTube.

Through a joint statement, the Press Club of India, Indian Women’s Press Corps, Delhi Union of Journalist, Press Association, and Kerala Union of Working Journalists (Delhi Unit) said the YouTube channel of 4 PM News, was blocked on the Union government’s order on Tuesday (April 29, 2025).

“The YouTube has cited that the 4 PM News page, which had over 7.3 million subscribers, was ‘unavailable in this country because of an order from the government related to national security or public order’. We understand that ‘4 PM’ YouTube news channel had raised some questions about possible security lapses that led to the wanton loss of lives at Pahalgam,” said the statement.

“These are questions that will be asked in any democracy. Taking down the YouTube channel for asking questions is a direct attack on freedom of speech, which is enshrined in Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution. In a democracy, dissent and questioning are not threats instead they are essential tools for transparency, accountability and strengthening democracy itself,” it said.

“Such actions set a dangerous precedent, eroding trust, stifling discourse apart from having an overall chilling effect.The public deserves answers, not censorship,” read the statement, also restore the availability of 4 PM News and its multi-lingual channels.