DM to WhatsApp group: Report hate texts
The district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar has advised administrators of WhatsApp groups to keep a check on rumour-mongering and hate messages in their groups.
The district magistrate BN Singh has issued the advisory in the wake of the sensitive situation of violence in Mahagun Moderne society.
He directed the group administrators to inform the police of such instances.Unsolicited messages, fake pictures, provocative videos hurting the sentiments of a community and disturbing peace through WhatsApp have created unnecessary problems in the past.
“It has come to our notice that some people have been using WhatsApp to spread animosity in the society by posting provocative videos and messages. The group administrators must give full support to the administration by informing us about such people,” said Singh.
Strict action has been promised against those spreading hatred among religious and social groups.
WhatsApp, a social media messaging application, has been under the police scanner following provocative messages leading to incidents of violence.
During the recent racial attacks on Africans in Greater Noida, the police had admitted that rumour-mongering on WhatsApp groups had played a major part in the assembly of the mob at Pari Chowk.
Even the violence during Muzaffarnagar riots in 2014 had escalated after fake videos of lynching were spread on WhatsApp. Taking cognizance of the trend of fake news on the internet, Singh has asked people to avoid forwarding provocative material.
“Even if you receive a provocative message, it is not necessary to forward the message to others contacts or groups. We should be careful about how we use these applications,” Singh said.
The Noida police are also gearing up to tackle hate-mongering on social media. Vivek Ranjan Rai, an inspector of Noida Cyber Crime Cell, said that it is the moral and legal responsibility of WhatsApp group owners to keep the police in the loop about inflammatory messages.
“If someone is sending provocative messages to a group, it becomes the moral and legal obligation of the administrator to delete the message, remove that person from the group and inform us immediately. We will take strict action.
Even during the previous government’s rule, some people were spreading false messages that many temples have been destroyed. We immediately took action against those responsible,” said Rai.