Fake news forwards vex virtual campus
DU students’ online groups are battling fake notices
Apart from college competitions and raising funds for online fests of various college sociealso ties, what’s trending on campus is fake news and notices. The instances of fake circulars has increased a lot as majority of students continue to take online classes.
“There have been several fake messages and notices going around, asking students to compulsorily visit the campus, to complete admission formalities. I think this is the work of restless freshers, who’ve become too bored, not being able to experience offline campus life. And the fact that the campus is opening selectively for final year students with practical work in their courses has made other students eager to step foot in campus as well. These circulars are just a mischievous attempt of a student desperately waiting for offline college life to begin,” says Gayathri KP, a student of Miranda House.
With students spread across multiple social media groups, incessantly forwarding notices and news, this situation is a first for Delhi University administration. “The University has issued a warning against fake press releases and circulars, assuring students that they needn’t visit the campus and that all admission formalities can be completed by e-mailing the documents online. But confusion arises because these fake circulars sometimes have the University’s letter head or fake signatures of principals. One certain way of confirming the authenticity of a notice is by checking with college authorities, Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) representatives, your college president or the college’s official website,” shares Pranshu Nain, a student of Ramjas College.
Confirming that there’s been an increase in calls and messages about widely circulated notices, Shubham Chaudhary, executive councillor, DUSU, says, “I’ve been receiving many calls from students asking whether a particular circular that’s gone viral on college WhatsApp groups is authentic or not. And many a times, it turns out to be fake... I’ve organised groups on various platforms where only admins can send messages. And whenever I come across a fake circular, I immediately post on my social media accounts, stating that it’s fake. The best way to stop the spread of such fake circulars is by checking its authenticity with an official authority before forwarding it to other groups.”
Several fake notices are going around, asking students to visit the campus for admission work. GAYATHRI KP, Student of Miranda House
Check the authenticity of a circular with an official authority before forwarding it. SHUBHAM CHAUDHARY, Executive councillor, DUSU