CHENNAI: The state government has formed a Fact Check Unit (FCU) under Special Programme Implementation Department to check the authenticity of information related to the state government across all media platforms.
The unit will check the veracity of information related to the announcements, policies, schemes, guidelines, and initiatives of the state government. “The FCU will act as a deterrent to the perpetrators/creators and disseminators of fake news and misinformation,” a G.O. said. The government has appointed Iyan Karthikeyan, editor, of the Youturn.in, a fact-checking website as the mission director of FCU.
“The Project Lead for Fact Check, working under the mission director, is responsible for debunking fake news about the government. He/she is also in charge of tackling the spread of misinformation, hate speech, and communal hatred in online forums and social media that are detrimental to society,” the G.O. said.
The FCU will have a central task force, and it will function from Kalaivanar Arangam in Chennai. Each district will have an analysis team. It can take suo motu cognizance on fact-checking as well as receiving complaints from various sources.