New Delhi: The government’s Fact Check Unit under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has published 2,913 fact checks across its official social media platforms, dispelling a range of fake claims related to the Union government — including deepfakes, AI-generated and misleading videos, notifications, letters and websites, an official statement said on Wednesday.
“During Operation Sindoor, the PIB Fact Check Unit actively identified misinformation and hostile narratives circulating online. It promptly acted on fact-checking false claims, providing authentic information, and ensuring accurate public communication, thereby helping prevent the spread of misleading and anti-India narratives,” Minister of State (MoS) for Information and Broadcasting, L. Murugan, said in the Lok Sabha.
The Ministry also issued directions for blocking of more than 1,400 such URLs on digital media during Operation Sindoor.
All fact-checks are available across PIB Fact Check official social media platforms, including X, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Threads and WhatsApp Channel, the MoS for Information and Broadcasting said in a statement.
The Fact Check Unit identifies fake news, misinformation relating to the Central government.
After verifying the authenticity of news from authorised sources, Fact Check Unit publishes correct information on its social media platforms.
It also encourages citizens to report suspicious content for verification, thereby strengthening public participation in combating misinformation.
For the publishers of news and current affairs on digital media and publishers of online curated content, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021) provides for a Code of Ethics.
It also provides a three-level institutional mechanism for redressal of grievance relating to violation of Code of Ethics by such publishers.
The PIB had in March-end flagged a fake message circulating on social media that claims State Bank of India’s YONO app accounts will be blocked if users do not update their Aadhaar details immediately.
(IANS)
