Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics and IT, has responded to the controversy surrounding a YouTube ad by issuing a clarification.
The minister has urged social media platforms to exercise caution when using government logos.
The ad in question was a public interest campaign by YouTube, featuring a popular social media personality offering stock market courses.
It displayed the logos of the IT ministry and India’s G20 presidency, along with a message about discerning between real and fake experts on the internet.
The ad faced criticism as some users questioned whether the government endorsed certain individuals as trusted experts.
Chandrasekhar clarified that the ad was not an endorsement and advised private platforms to be more careful when using government logos in such campaigns.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently raised concerns about unregistered social media influencers providing financial advice, and the expectations set by such influencers in terms of market returns have been highlighted as problematic.
