Kerala: Police launches counter drive against fake news
The state police have constituted social media cells in all districts as well as at the police headquarters.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the spread of misleading messages over social media has become a serious cause for concern to the police, the cops have now started to address the issue using the same platform. The recently formed social media cell of the police has been countering many misleading social campaigns by unleashing counter campaigns of the facts using memes. The latest such effort was against the scaremongering over the Nipah virus. This apart, memes conveying general awareness against thefts and road safety tips are also being spread by the police on social media.
Sources at the police headquarters said that swift dissemination of information was the main aim of setting up the social media network. However, it has now become an effective tool to counter false campaigns by spreading truth. The state police have constituted social media cells in all districts as well as at the police headquarters. Police officials with skills in social media and related aspects have been deployed at the social media cell working at the police headquarters under the supervision of IG Thiruvananthapuram-range Mr. Manoj Abraham.
Official accounts of the Kerala Police have been opened on all major social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter and steps to get the official status verified is also on. A statewide WhatsApp network linking all senior police officers including district police chiefs is being managed by the social media cell at the police headquarters. All district police chiefs are managing social media accounts at the district level with all station house officers and DySPs as members. There is also a social media network at the police station level.