Remove fake content within 3 hours: EC to political parties

The Election Commission of India (ECI) today, 6 May, directed political parties to remove fake content from their social media platforms within three hours of such content being brought to their notice.

This is part of the directives issued to political parties by the poll panel to ensure responsible and ethical use of social media in election campaigning, in order to maintain a level playing field for all stakeholders.

The ECI reportedly took cognisance of certain violations by various political parties before issuing this directive.

Recently, deepfake videos featuring union home minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and actors Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh had been posted on certain social media handles, and were taken down after criminal complaints were filed.

The ECI also warned the parties against the misuse of AI-based tools to create deepfakes that distort information or propagate misinformation, and emphasised the need to uphold the integrity of the electoral process.

'Taking cognisance of certain violations of [the Model Code of Conduct] and the extant legal provisions by political parties/their representatives while using social media for election campaigning, the Commission today has issued directions to political parties for responsible and ethical use of social media in election campaigning to ensure [a] level playing field among all stakeholders,' the ECI said in a statement.

'The parties have been directed to promptly remove any such content within three hours of bringing it to their notice, [and] warn the person responsible in their party reporting unlawful information,' the statement added.