Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) yesterday shared an interim order against the company Sadhna Broadcast Ltd, which manages the Sadhna television channel, for using YouTube channels for manipulating stock prices.

The regulator, in preliminary investigations, identified several entities that used the video streaming platform to pump and dump stocks.

According to a Reuters report, SEBI barred the entities from the capital markets and identified 46 entities that used the video streaming platform to pump and dump stocks.

These entities – a mix of traders and market analysts – used four YouTube channels to market stocks, according to the regulator.

SEBI’s interim orders came on the back of a year-long investigation following investor complaints that alleged YouTube channels were being used to influence them to buy particular stocks.

SEBI said these entities used misleading YouTube videos to create “false content” on select scrips, generating artificial interest. This was followed up with paid marketing campaigns for additional reach.