J&K: Speaker assures discussion on social media smear campaigns against legislators
Taking cognisance of concerns raised by members across party lines over online smear campaigns, Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather on Thursday assured a separate half-an-hour discussion on the issue during the ongoing budget session.
The issue was raised in the House amid allegations that fake social media accounts and politically motivated handles were circulating defamatory content and misleading videos against elected representatives, damaging their reputation and undermining the dignity of the House.
Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir Government informed the assembly that a dedicated media monitoring cell has been established in the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) to track and counter fake and misleading information in real time.
Replying to a starred question by MLA RS Pathania, Education Minister Sakina Itoo said the DIPR issued 28 rebuttals related to fake news and misinformation from April 1, 2025, to January 31, 2026. Of these, 20 were issued through press releases and eight through the department’s official social media handles. She said the media monitoring cell continuously scans websites, news channels and social media platforms and promptly issues rebuttals upon identifying misleading content.
However, the minister said regulation or suspension of websites, digital platforms, online news channels or private fact-checking units (FCUs) does not fall within the scope of the information department.
I too said all Government departments have designated nodal officers to monitor department-specific fake news, while imposition of fines against individuals, organisations or corporate entities for spreading news does not come under the purview of the information department.
