Election Commission Appoints Special Officer to Keep Tab on Social Media in Goa

The office of Goa's Chief Electoral Officer said in a statement the appointment is to curb fake news, hate speech and other problematic content.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has appointed a special officer to keep a tab on social media content in run up to the Lok Sabha and three assembly by-polls in the state. The officer, appointed on Thursday, will ensure that content and posts on social media sites don’t violate the model code of conduct in force for the Lok Sabha and assembly by-elections, a senior official said.

The appointment is another step to curb fake news, hate speech and other problematic content, according to a statement issued by the office of Goa’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).

Voting for the two Lok Sabha constituencies and three assembly by-polls will be held on April 23.

“All social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, would be under scanner as per Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines,” said the official attached to the office of Goa’s CEO.

He told PTI that every post and content would be scanned to ensure they do not violate the model code of conduct or spoil the environment to hold free and fair elections.

The ECI has appointed Praveen Volvotkar, deputy director, Department of Information Technology and Communication, as nodal officer for social media and to handle cases pertaining to violation of the poll code, he said.

“He would examine social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as it takes another step to crack a whip on fake news, hate speech and other problematic content that violate the election model code of conduct,” said the statement.