The Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra has sent notices to various social media platforms asking them to remove a total of 1,752 posts which contain fake news and are aimed at creating confusion among voters. An official release issued on Friday said that more than 300 of these posts were removed after being flagged by the Election Commission. These notices were sent under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, which empowers law enforcement agencies to order removal of any material that can be used for illegal activities.
Assembly elections will be held in Maharashtra on 20 November. Of these objectionable posts, 143 were found on Facebook, 280 on Instagram, 1,296 on X, 31 on YouTube and two on other social media platforms. The release said that Facebook has so far removed 16 posts, while action is awaited on 127 more posts, while after sending the notice, Instagram has removed 29 posts, X has removed 251 posts and YouTube has removed five posts.
It was also informed in the release that 420 complaints of violation of election code of conduct were received on the Election Commission’s ‘C-Vigil’ app, out of which 414 complaints were resolved. Maximum settlements took place in Thane district. The release said that since the implementation of the code of conduct earlier this week, material worth Rs 10.64 crore in the form of cash, drugs, liquor and expensive gifts has been recovered.