‘Digital Armies’ in Uttar Pradesh to curb Fake News

To curb incidents of lynching and violence triggered by fake news on social media, the Uttar Pradesh Police will be setting up ‘Digital Armies’ to keep a strict vigil on inflammatory posts and rumour-mongering, Press Trust of India reported.

According to the report, all the 1,469 police stations in the state will have a WhatsApp group. These groups, in turn, will be linked to the district WhatsApp group, which would be linked to the state DGP.

These groups will have members including ex-servicemen, teachers, doctors, advocates and journalists among other, PTI quoted Director General of Police OP Singh as saying. Singh also added that the members will share with the police various information, rumours, photographs and videos of their respective area.

The report also quoted him as saying, “These ‘digital volunteers’ will inform their local police station if they stumble upon fake news on the social media and at the same time, disseminate correct information among the locals to curb the spread of rumours.”

The application forms to become a digital volunteer are available on the UP Police website, the report states. The volunteers will be selected by a district-level committee under the superintendent of police.