Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Election Commission Warns Against Fake News
Political parties have also been advised to ensure responsible social media behaviour.
The Election Commission of India listed money power to misinformation as challenges as India heads for its 17th general election from April through early June 2024 in seven phases.
Rajiv Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner, said that tackling fake news was the biggest challenge for the election body and urged citizens to be vigilant and check messages before forwarding them.
The Election Commissioner said that there were four major challenges before the election body us in conducting elections — muscle, money, misinformation and moral code of conduct violations.
Source: Election Commission of India / X
"We will soon launch on our website Myth versus Reality to fight misinformation," Kumar announced adding that originators of fake news would be dealt with severely as per laws.
Political parties have also been advised to ensure responsible social media behaviour.
"There is no place of violence in elections," Kumar said as he urged the political parties to maintain decorum. He assured the voters that there would be adequate security deployment with 24x7 integrated control rooms in each districts.
The largest democratic exercise will see 97 crore registered voters cast their vote in April and May, according to the Election Commission of India.
