Govt departments form QRTs to counter fake, misleading social media content

Government departments are forming Quick Response Teams to swiftly identify, verify and counter fake, misleading or manipulated social media content. Officials said responses should ideally be issued within two hours, with QRTs coordinating with ministry teams and the PIB fact-check unit

New Delhi: Government departments are constituting Quick Response Teams (QRT) to ensure a timely response to misleading or fake content on social media, an official said. There is a need to engage with people through social media in a constructive manner and to ensure that responses to rumours, misinformation, fake content, and misleading posts are issued promptly, the official said.

The objective is to promptly scrutinise, coordinate and respond to such content, while effectively monitoring matters related to the works and functions of government departments on social media.

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The functions and responsibilities of the respective teams include responding to fake/misleading content on social media. Departments such as power, agriculture and commerce have already constituted their QRTs. “Ideally, the response from the ministries should go in two hours of noting such content,” the official said, adding that the monitoring of social media and relevant digital platforms would be undertaken by the social media and digital media teams of respective ministries with appropriate inputs from the new media wing of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The social media teams shall regularly monitor content relating to the ministry or department, including its policies, schemes, programmes, decisions, and announcements.

Any content which appears to be fake, misleading, factually incorrect, manipulated, distorted, taken out of context, or likely to cause public confusion shall promptly be brought to the notice of QRTs, the official said, adding the QRTs will verify such information and submit factual positions.

They will also coordinate with the PIB fact check unit. Cases involving high virality, significant public interest, sensitive policy matters, potential public harm, legal implications, coordinated misinformation campaigns, or inter-ministerial issues would be escalated to the appropriate senior authority, another official said.