2 min readNew DelhiApr 19, 2026 05:36 PM IST
The Election Commission has taken action on over 11,000 social media posts, including ordering the removal of the content, issuing clarifications and filing of FIRs, in connection with the Assembly elections in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal since the announcement of the poll schedule on March 15, the poll panel said on Sunday.
The EC said in a statement that social media posts that are in violation of the Model Code of Conduct or disrupt or have the potential to disrupt the law and order in the four states and one UT are being monitored and acted upon by the State Nodal Officers under the Information Technology Act.
“Accordingly, since the announcement of elections on March 15, 2026, over 11,000 such social media posts/URLs have been identified and acted upon including removal of content, FIR, clarifications and rebuttals in the ongoing elections,” the EC said.
The majority of these actions pertain to posts related to the Tamil Nadu and West Bengal elections, it is learnt.
The EC statement said that any misleading or unlawful AI-generated content should be acted upon within three hours of being brought to the notice of the social media platforms.
“Political parties, candidates and campaign representatives are required to ensure that any synthetically generated or AI-altered content used for campaigning is clearly labelled as ‘AI-Generated’, ‘Digitally Enhanced’ or ‘Synthetic Content’, along with disclosure of the originating entity, to maintain transparency and voter trust,” the EC said.
Among some of the posts taken down recently were a 2022 video that was circulated again, alleging that Trinamool Congress workers were threatening voters not to vote for the BJP in West Bengal. Apart from removing the content, the West Bengal Police’s official accounts said on Facebook and X on Saturday that “legal action will be taken against those who are circulating this misleading video”.
