A day after it published a step-by-step guide for law enforcement agencies to identify ‘fake news’ and communally sensitive posts in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) removed the manual from its website.
On Sunday, after The Hindu carried the report, several Twitter users objected to the inclusion of certain portals on an indicative list of websites that could be accessed for fact check, including www.thehindu.com, pib.gov.in and reporterlabs.org and others.
The report, ‘Fake News & Disinformation: A Guide for LEAs - How to spot and investigate,’ was prepared by the Modernisation division of the think tank under the Union Home Ministry.
‘Technical errors’
Asked why the report was taken down from the website, a senior BPRD official said, “There were some technical errors. The report is being corrected and will be published soon again.”
A tweet from the official handle of the BPRD posted at 4.34 p.m. on May 8, where it announced the publication of the manual, was also deleted on Sunday.
The detailed manual had said “digital news has brought back and increased the usage of fake news or yellow journalism” usually “published with the intent to damage an agency, entity or a person and gain financially or politically often using sensationalist, dishonest or outright fabricated headlines to increase readership.”
To explain the communal aspect, the guidelines included a screenshot of a fake video which accused Muslims of licking cleaned plates and spoons to “transfer the virus to people at large”.
It also attached a clip where miscreants used fake URLs to mislead people who wanted to donate to PM-CARES fund.
