Odisha Elections 2024: Commissionerate Police Issues Notice To Remove 249 Fake Posts From Social Media

By OB Bureau On May 18, 2024

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate Police has issued notice to remove 249 posts from different social media sites for offensive videos, photos and statements related to the elections.

The Commissionerate Police had set up a designated monitoring cell on the orders of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to detect fake news and misleading information during the election.

The cyber cell is functioning at the cyber police station in Bhubaneswar. It has been tasked to take note of inappropriate content on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) that violate the Voluntary Code of Ethics and Model Code of Conduct (MCC), according to a press release of the Commissionerate Police.

The false and misleading posts related to electronic voting machines (EVMs), electoral rolls, law and order, postal ballots and campaigns in social media platforms are being monitored.

Following the surveillance, the Commissionerate Police has issued 249 notices to remove offensive posts, including 68 from Facebook, 144 from Instagram and 37 from ‘X’. Besides, 110 social media handles are under strict surveillance of the cyber cell.

While four complaints were received from the public, the rest 245 cases were detected by the social media team of Cyber PS and the Cyber Mitra volunteers. The reported posts include morphed images, fake information, altered audio, and defamatory content which tarnish the image of different political parties, the release stated.