Telangana police get cracking as fake news festers

He also instructed the unit heads to take stringent action against those who spread such misinformation.
For representational purposes
For representational purposes

HYDERABAD: The rampant circulation of fake news on digital platforms has been a pain point for the Telangana police for a while now. As viral rumours with the potential to incite hate crimes between different communities continue to spread, the State police have decided to take up special measures to prevent such circulation, at least during the festival season scheduled to start from September.

As recently as on Saturday, a Twitter handle @FaizaneMadina, going by the name Faizan-E-Madina, had posted some fake information on the platform stating that communal tension has gripped Telangana. The post was accompanied with old pictures to add legitimacy to the false news. Immediately, however, Director General of Police (DGP) M Mahendar Reddy reacted to the post, informing denizens that the news was entirely fake and baseless. Senior police officials warned that those sharing fake information including morphed photos and doctored videos on social media are liable to be punished, especially if the news have potential to create law and order issues.

“We have cutting-edge technologies that are being used to detect the source of such content. As soon as we receive information on such rumours, we will track and block them,” the police said. 

Meanwhile, the DGP directed all district superintendents and commissioners of police to be as alert as the social media wing, in monitoring the circulation of fake news. He also instructed the unit heads to take stringent action against those who spread such misinformation.

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