Government’s Action Against Fake News During Operation Sindoor
Lawmaker Tejasvi Surya raised a question in Lok Sabha regarding the steps taken by the government to combat fake news, accounts, and information during Operation Sindoor. Minister Vaishnaw responded by stating that certain social media handles, many of which operated from outside India, were spreading false and potentially harmful information.
Government Orders to Combat Misinformation
Under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2000, the government issued orders to block websites, social media handles, and posts that contained false, misleading, anti-India news content. This action was taken in the interest of sovereignty, integrity, defence, security, and public order of India.
During Operation Sindoor, set up after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the government established a 24×7 centralised control room. This room, monitored by defence forces, government media units, and the Press Information Bureau (PIB), aimed to share real-time information to combat misinformation effectively.
Fact-Checking and Advisory
The Press Information Bureau’s fact-check unit actively tracked and debunked fake news on social media. The government also issued an advisory to media outlets to refrain from live coverage of defence operations and security forces’ movements in the interest of national security.
Social media platform X disclosed during court hearings that over 62 emergency blocking orders were issued, targeting thousands of URLs and accounts to combat misinformation.
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