The Karnataka unit of the Indian National Congress filled case with the election commission against Twitter user AgentSaffron for spreading misinformation.
The user had shared a message in which it was alleged that Syed Mohammed Yusuf Shah, also known as Syed Salahuddin, had fought 1987 Kashmir assembly elections on a Congress ticket.
Salahuddin is a Kashmiri separatist militant and the head of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.
The claim however has been proven wrong by various fake news debunking website such as AltNews. Salahuddin had contested the elections on the ticket of the Muslim United Front (MUF). The fake message has been making the rounds of social media since the start of 2019.
The Election Commission of India had earlier joined Twitter ahead of the Lok Sabha elections while the micro-blogging site also launched a special election emoji aimed at encouraging participation in election-related discussions, encouraging more people to go and vote.
Available in 12 languages, the election emoji would feature an image of the Parliament of India.
To further raise awareness among voters, the Election Commission of India has launched the “Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation” programme (SVEEP) on the platform.
“Twitter India welcomes the Election Commission of India’s SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation Program) (@ECISVEEP) onboard the platform,” the company had said in a statement.
Working with India poll panel to address political bias in real-time: Twitter
