Maharashtra Cyber Cell's warning: 113 FIRs filed for fake news on Coronavirus, lockdown

Maharashtra Cyber cell has registered a total of 113 FIRs against people spreading misinformation and rumours on social media related to Coronavirus and lockdown.

Social media platforms being monitored constantly

"A total of 113 FIRs have been registered by Maharashtra Cyber department during lockdown period for spreading misinformation and for spreading communal/casteist hatred on social media," according to a State Home Department report. On April 6, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had said that a total of 100 FIRs had been registered by Maharashtra Police against people who allegedly spread fake and unverified news on Twitter relating to COVID-19

According to PTI, officials also said that social media platforms were being monitored constantly during lockdown. "Of 113 offences, Beed tops with 15, followed by Pune Rural with 11 and Mumbai at third with nine cases. Satara and Jalgaon districts have seven offences each, Nashik Rural has six and Nashik City, Thane City and Nanded have four cases each," an official said.

In Beed and Shivaji Nagar in Latur, some people shared messs linking outbreak to a particular community, and cases have been registered in this connection.

Maharashtra Cyber department warned WhatsApp group administrators and members to t post or forward unverified, inauntic information related to virus outbreak and warned that failure to adhere to se directives could lead to cases against all participants in a group.

WhatsApp tightens sharing limits

In a bid to curb misinformation, WhatsApp on Tuesday anunced that it has imposed a limit on forwarding of messs on app. From Wednesday, messs that have been classified as frequently forwarded messs or sent over five times can w be forwarded to a single chat at a time. move has been undertaken by Facebook-owned messaging app to reduce spread of fake information through platform.

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In recent weeks, "we've seen a significant increase in amount of forwarding which users have told us can feel overwhelming and can contribute to spread of misinformation," WhatsApp said in a blog post. "We believe it's important to slow spread of se messs down to keep WhatsApp a place for a personal conversation."

WhatsApp along with its parent Facebook has been scrambling to curb an explosion of rumours and hoaxes about coronavirus and at same time seeking to promote verified content.

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(With ncy inputs)