Karnataka Police Launch Fact-check Website to Fight Fake News in the Time of Coronavirus

Bengaluru: In the midst of an unprecedented global health crisis, the Karnataka Police are fighting a dual battle: enforcing a strict lockdown and fighting fake news.

The increasing number of coronavirus cases have fuelled a rise in fake news, police said, including some of it with an intent to create communal tensions as several cases have been traced to a Muslim missionary group’s congregation in Delhi.

To fight this menace, the tech-savvy Karnataka Police have launched a special website - www.factchek.ksp.gov.in - requesting people to check the authenticity of the news or information they receive via social media using this site.

Director General of Police Praveen Sood, an alumni of IIT Delhi, used his technical background to fight the bottomless pit. Sood entrusted the job of launching this site to senior IPS officer B Dayananda, the Additional Director General of Police, CID. Dayananda made sure that the website was up and running in just 36 hours.

Dayananda told News18 that the Karnataka Police decided to launch the website keeping in mind the recent surge in fake news on account of the Covid-19 crisis. “Many messages seeking to create social discord and having a bearing on public order were found,” he said.

The cybercrime division of CID, Karnataka, has partnered with an agency with experience in busting fake news for the project, he said. “We immediately registered a sub domain under ksp.gov.in and set up the back-end tools with the help of agency C4S and set up the website up in 36 hours straight. The website is now live and while there will be some teething problems, we expect to learn on the go,” he said.

He requested people to make use of the portal to check the authenticity of any doubtful content on social media and not to share any information without confirming its authenticity.

After the launch of the site, the police have also come out with a detailed "Do's and Don'ts" for the public who use social media platforms to share news and other information.

Dayananda said violators and mischievous people will be dealt with harshly.

"The entire state is working overtime to combat Covid-19. People should understand the gravity of the situation. If anyone goes ahead and spreads fake news which can be harmful to harmony or creates disturbance, we will handle them with an iron hand," he warned.