The Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah issued the rigorous instructions to the authorities on Tuesday to find the source of the fake news on social media platforms and take necessary actions against them. The CM said that the government of Karnataka is planning to bring back the fact-checking technical team to control the spread of dummy news and misinformation in the state, as the Lok Sabha polls are approaching in the year 2024.
A meeting was held with the Home Minister of the state G Parameshwar to discuss the matters in detail. The CM said that, “a team was working with the Police in the initial days to detect rumors, fake news, check the facts and give caution to the people about the same. But the BJP government deconstructed the technical team as soon as they came to power. Now, it is started again and the cyber police will work on the issue to find the source of the fake news that is being spread in the social media and take necessary legal actions against them”.
He also said that the reports of the technical team should be submitted regularly by the cyber police without fail.
The CM further said that there are chances of riot and violence because of the spread of fake news on social media. The Bharatiya Janata Party created a turmoil by spreading dummy news in the society about the beef transporters and the child kidnappers.
The Chief Minister Siddaramaiah assumed that the Bharatiya Janata Party is using this strategy, as the Lok Sabha elections are approaching in the coming year. When the Congress party came to power in 2013, there was a rise in the spread of fake news and rumors in the state. The same strategy is being adopted by the opposition party this time too. The attempts of spreading the fake news is increasing and causing a restless situation among the people. Thus, the Chief Minister asked officials to identify the source of the fake news and take necessary actions against the spread of fake news.
Siddaramaiah said that, “The Congress party is preparing themselves for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024 and it is important for them to survive in the politics of the democratic nation. He also said that this is a clear indication that attempts will be made by the opponent party to provoke Mafia attacks and riots by spreading rumors and fake news”.
