HYDERABAD: Osmania University (OU), of late, has been hit by a spate of ‘fake messages’ circulating on social media, which has forced the varsity to go into damage control mode.The fake messages by mischief mongers which get students nervous and provide reason to many student oganisations on campus to conduct protests, are being circulated at a time when the atmosphere in the university is already tense.
It was just in the beginning of December that a fake message claiming that semester exams have been cancelled, was widely circulated on WhatsApp, forcing the university to file a complaint in the cyber crime cell.
In another case, a fake message triggered a story getting published in a local media outlet alleging OU being at fault in invigilation of a student’s exam answer sheet, forcing the university to convene a press meet to defend itself.
On Wednesday, another fake message got widely circulated claiming that OU vice-chancellor and registrar have resigned in the backdrop of the Indian Science Congress venue being changed.This forced the university once again to speak in its defence. The varsity is also planning to approach the police regarding these fake messages. “The vice-chancellor stated that unconfirmed messages being circulated are causing confusion among students. Students tend to believe such unconfirmed news, fraying their tempers”, mentioned the statement released by OU on the ISC debacle on Wednesday.
It further said, “The VC appealed to administrators of various Whatsapp groups to check the credibility of the sources to ascertain the veracity of the information. At times, a few channels have picked up such false information, changing the discourse on the university in the media causing irreparable damage to this 100-year-old institution.”