The Cyber Prevention Awareness and Detection (CyPAD) unit of Delhi Police has registered four cases against several social media accounts in connection with sharing and uploading of alleged fake posts during the Republic Day violence, officers said on Wednesday.
Om Prakash Dhetarwal, 29, a resident of Churu district in Rajasthan, has been arrested for allegedly posting an old video along with fake news of resignation of 200 police personnel.
Another person has been apprehended from Bharatpur, Rajasthan, for posting similar fake news.
The police have sent requests for removal of the “offensive and unlawful” posts.
Several others indulging in such activities have been identified and efforts are under way to arrest them, the police said.
Notices to join the investigation have been issued to four persons. Further action against them will be taken on the basis of their deposition, the police added.
Generating resentment
Police said they have noticed some social media behaviours in the last few days.
Fake news about police firing on protesters is widely being circulated. “Old images and videos of law and order action unrelated to the current situation in Delhi are being peddled to generate resentment against the administration,” Delhi Police PRO Chinmoy Biswal said.
Public safety measures such as barricading and preventive steps such as restrictions of 4G Internet are being projected as preparation for large-scale crackdown, the police said.
Bogus claims and conjectures, causing disrepute and doubts about bonafide legal processes, such as post-mortem report generated by a medical board is also being created, they said.
The malicious social media propaganda undertaken by vested interests is primarily aimed at regaining support after the public backlash caused due to the unprovoked violence perpetrated by the protesters during the tractor rally at ITO, Red Fort and other places throughout the national capital, in which more than 500 police personnel were injured, Mr. Biswal said.
Bot accounts
We have noticed that several social media accounts spreading the fake posts have no account biodata, which is behaviour generally observed in bot accounts, said the officer.
In many posts, the attached media file is edited and manipulated, and pushed in the guise of news reports along with inciteful and alarming hashtags, Mr. Biswal said, adding: “As part of the probe, the accounts or handles that have posted these fake, offensive, provocative content have been escalated to the OTT platforms for getting their basic subscriber information and also for their removal.”
