In a move to crack whip on fake news mongers causing embarrassment to the government, YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday launched an exclusive “Factcheck” portal to expose mischievous elements.
The portal, https://factcheck.ap.gov.in, will help curb spreading of misinformation and take action against those who are out to tarnish the image of the state government.
Launching the website, Jagan asked the authorities to take stern action against those who spread fake and malicious propaganda in social media. He said the officials could make use of the platform and counter the false propaganda with evidence.
“No one has the right to deliberately damage the reputation of an individual or the system with mala fide intentions. There is a need to counter such malicious campaign which is intended to mislead the people on the ambitious programmes of the government. People have to know the facts,” he said.
Though there is already a FACTCHECK facility with the police and other departments, the Jagan government thought of launching it in the form of a portal to take on the opposition parties which are slinging mud at the government through social media platforms.
A couple of days ago, there was a systematic campaign in the social media by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and sympathizers with the hashtag #Encroachment4ChristInAP, alleging that a huge cross was being erected on a hillock in Edlapadu, Guntur, where carvings of Hindu deities already exist,” a CMO official pointed out.
BJP national secretary and co-incharge of Andhra Pradesh Sunil Deodhar took to Twitter claiming that the cross was being constructed where once footprints of Sita Maa and carving of Lord Narasimha existed. He also added that “Christian mafias” were creating havoc in the Guntur district, despite protests by RSS and the BJP cadre.
The official handle of Guntur Rural district police promptly responded to his tweet, explaining the topography of the location through a video shot by the SHO. Sub-Inspector of Edlapadu clarified that the hillock on which the cross was being erected is 500 metres away from the hillock on which the idol of Narasimha Swamy is present.
“He also mentioned that no official complaint was lodged either with the police or the Revenue Department regarding the concern raised by the BJP member on social media,” the CMO official pointed out.
Similarly, there were a few threads and posts regarding the reduction in height of the Polavaram dam that went viral on social media. The posts claimed that Polavaram project height is being reduced from 45.72 meters to 41.1 meters.
“Some media houses reported this speculation with heated debates, and posts appeared on social media with false information without any verified source. But during a review meeting on the progress of the Polavaram project chaired by the chief minister, the officials clarified that the works on the project were going as per the design that was cleared by Central Water Commission and Union Water Resources Ministry. There is no proposal of reducing the height of the dam,” he pointed out.
