Remove fake content within 3 hours: EC's stern directive to political parties

The ECI has issued strict guidelines to all political parties regarding the responsible use of social media platforms during elections.

The Election Commission on Monday directed political parties to remove fake content from their social media platforms within three hours of such content being brought to their notice. They have also been asked to identify and warn the responsible individuals within their ranks.

"Whenever such deepfake audios/videos come to the notice of political parties, they shall immediately take down the post but maximum within a period of three hours and also identify and warn the responsible person within the party," the poll body said.

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Taking note of various violations of the MCC and existing legal provisions by political parties and their representatives while using social media for election purposes, the ECI issued stern directives aimed at curbing misinformation, synthetic content, and the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, particularly deep fakes, which distort information or propagate falsehoods.

The poll body highlighted concerns regarding the misuse of social media platforms by political parties and their representatives, citing instances of disseminating misinformation, manipulating content, and impersonating others, all of which have the potential to influence voter opinions and erode trust in the electoral process.

“The parties have been directed to promptly remove any such content within three hours of bringing it to their notice, warn the person responsible in their party, reporting unlawful information and fake user accounts to respective platforms, and escalate persistent issues to the Grievance Appellate Committee under Rule 3A of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021,” the Election Commission said in a release.

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Recently, deepfake videos featuring Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and actors Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh posted on certain social media handles were taken down and criminal complaints filed.

The commission said the parties have been directed to report unlawful information and fake user accounts to the respective platforms and escalate persistent issues to the Grievance Appellate Committee under Rule 3A of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.