Lok Sabha Question No. 5033 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-24
Subject: Fake News during General Elections
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Francisco Cosme Sardinha

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5033

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 24 th  JULY, 2019

## FAKE NEWS DURING GENERAL ELECTIONS

5033. SHRI COSME FRAANCISCO CAITANO SARDINHA:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  list  of  complaints  against  fake/  false  news  on  social  media  during  Lok Sabha  Election  Code  of  conduct  along  with  the  date  of  complaint,  brief description of complaint and action taken thereon;
- (b)  whether Election Commission considered banning social media messaging apps  like  Whats-app  during  election  code  of  conduct  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;
- (c) Whether the Election Commission is aware of deep fake technology videos of politicians  and  other  personalities  giving  speeches  which  can  be  made  and circulated; and
- (d) if so, the steps taken by the Election Commission has taken to prevent the use of deep fake videos to create confusion?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a): The Election Commission has informed that during the recently held General Elections  to  Lok  Sabha,  2019  and  Legislative  Assemblies  of  four  States,  in pursuance  of  'Voluntary  code  of  ethics'several  social  media  platforms  were directed  to  remove  content  spreading  fake/false  news/misinformation.  The Commission  had  received  majority  of  such  cases  as  complaints  from  social media nodal officers  appointed at Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) at the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer. However, there were cases where  social  media  team  of  the  Commission  had  suo-moto  reported  cases  to social media  platforms. The  details of all such  cases  of fake  news  or misinformation  either  received  as  complaint  from  Chief  Electoral  Office  or reported  by  the  Commission  along  with  the  date  and  brief  description  are  at Annexure-I.

(b): The Commission has informed that no such proposal was taken up by them during the Lok Sabha Election, 2019.

(c) and (d): The Commission has informed that no such 'deep fake technology videos' has been brought to their notice.

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## Fake News/False News/Misinformation received/reported

## Facebook (46 Cases)

|   S. No. | Brief description of the case                                                                                                                                    | Date of complaint received/reported   |   Number | Action Taken by the ECI   |
|----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|----------|---------------------------|
|        1 | Facebook posts spreading misinformation received from Chief Electoral Officer, Assam.                                                                            | 11.04.2019                            |       02 | Reported to Facebook      |
|        2 | Facebook posts spreading misinformation received from Chief Electoral Officer, Manipur.                                                                          | 11.04.2019                            |       01 | Reported to Facebook      |
|        3 | Facebook posts spreading fake/false information regarding indelible ink noticed by the social media team of the Election Commission.                             | 15.04.2019                            |       01 | Reported to Facebook      |
|        4 | Facebook posts spreading fake information stating Electronic Voting Machine(EVM) can be hacked noticed by the social media team of the Commission.               | 20.04.2019                            |       06 | Reported to Facebook      |
|        5 | Facebook posts spreading fake information on EVM manipulation noticed by the social media team of the Commission.                                                | 25.04.2019                            |       01 | Reported to Facebook      |
|        6 | Facebook posts spreading false information that a person whose name does not appear on voter list can also was received from Chief Electoral Officer, Rajasthan. | 26.04.2019                            |       01 | Reported to Facebook      |
|        7 | Facebook posts spreading fake/false information regarding 20 lakh EVMs gone missing was noticed by the social media team of the Commission.                      | 09.05.2019                            |       22 | Reported to Facebook      |
|        8 | Facebook posts spreading fake/false information regarding transportation of EVM without security was noticed by the social                                       | 09.05.2019                            |       11 | Reported to Facebook      |

| media team of the Commission.                                                                                                                                               |            |    |                      |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------|----|----------------------|
| Facebook posts spreading fake/false information regarding 550 EVMs replaced and missing CCTV footage of strong room was noticed by the social media team of the Commission. | 15.05.2019 | 01 | Reported to Facebook |

## Twitter (97 Cases)

|   S. No. | Brief description of the case                                                                                                                                                                                                                | Date of complaint received/reported   |   Number | Action Taken by the ECI                                                                                      |
|----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Tweets spreading misinformation regarding indelible ink was noticed by the social media team of the Commission. The tweets were intended to mislead voters of a specific community.                                                          | 26.03.2019                            |       02 | Reported to Twitter for removing the content. A First Information Report (FIR) was also filed in the matter. |
|        2 | A tweet spreading false information regarding Electronic Voting Machine(EVM) was forwarded by the Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha. The tweet claimed that person voted for some party, whereas the light in EVM glowed for some other party. | 13.04.2019                            |       01 | Reported to Twitter.                                                                                         |
|        3 | Tweet spreading misinformation regarding EVM was noticed by the social media team of the Commission.                                                                                                                                         | 15.04.2019                            |       01 | Reported to Twitter.                                                                                         |
|        4 | A list of tweets spreading misinformation regarding EVM was prepared by the social media team of the Commission.                                                                                                                             | 09.05.2019                            |       84 | Reported to Twitter.                                                                                         |

| 5.   | Tweets spreading misinformation regarding EVM transportation without security was noticed by the social media team of the Commission.   | 09.05.2019   | 09   | Reported to Twitter.   |
|------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------|------|------------------------|

## YouTube (11 Cases)

|   S. No. | Brief description of the case                                                                                                                       | Date of complaint received/reported   |   Number | Action Taken by the ECI   |
|----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|----------|---------------------------|
|        1 | Tweets spreading fake information stating that EVMs are missing were noticed by the social media team of the Election Commission.                   | 09.05.2019                            |       09 | Reported to Google.       |
|        2 | Tweet on EVM being transported without security was noticed by the social media team of the Commission. The information was found to be fake/false. | 09.05.2019                            |       01 | Reported to Google.       |
|        3 | Tweet spreading fake information stating that EVMs could be hacked was noticed by the social media team of the Commission.                          | 17.05.2019                            |       01 | Reported to Google.       |

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