Delhi Assembly's Panel on Peace and Harmony meets, decides to act against fake news

New Delhi [India], Mar 2 (ANI): The Committee on Peace and Harmony, formed by the Delhi Assembly met on Monday and decided to warn people against forwarding, retweeting or sharing fake news or messages, that foment enmity between two communities, on social media platforms. The panel has also decided to widely advertise on the provisions of a three-year jail term for indulging in such acts.
Speaking at a press conference, AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj said, "The Delhi Assembly has formed a committee called the Committee on Peace and Harmony, its first meeting took place on Monday. In the meeting, it was discussed why there was violence in Delhi."
"We found that on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp some people spread messages causing hatred. They are mostly fake news but people forward it among each other and some believe in the fake news resulting in enmity in society. To spread hatred is a criminal offence. The Committee has decided to advertise at a wide level that if someone is forwarding, retweeting or sharing a fake message on social media that creates enmity between two communities then that person may get 3 years of imprisonment," the AAP MLA said.
"Whoever sees this type of message he should take a screenshot and send it to this committee. We will soon share with you the number and email id where the screenshot is to be sent. The committee will investigate it and if a criminal act was found then it will be sent to law enforcement agencies," he said.
Bhardwaj said, "We will take the help of legal experts who will advise us that if there is criminal law applicable in a message which is fake. One agency will do fact-checking of these."
"We have decided to include retired police officers in the committee as they have experience in law. The committee members found that in both the Hindu and Muslim community there are some people who are spreading fake news on social media platforms. Similarly, we found that yesterday there were some rumours about violence in Delhi," he said.
"There was a suggestion made in the committee that a reward should be given to those who give information about fake news. Some members have suggested Rs 10,000 cash reward. Also, there were suggestions that those who have helped others in the Delhi violence, they should also be rewarded," he said.
It was also put forward by committee members that it will discuss the issue of fake news and messages with officials of various social media platforms and how they can help prevent the spread of fake news, he added. (ANI)