Amaravati, Mar 5 (IANS): At a time when numerous falsehoods and malicious propaganda is being propagated in Andhra Pradesh, especially on religion, Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday launched a fact checking website, https://factcheck.ap.gov.in/, to nip fake news in the bud.
"The main objective behind bringing this fact check website is to stop the spread of fake and malicious propaganda on social media," said Reddy.
He said the government condemns false propaganda and highlighted that the website will showcase evidence and clearly identify how a fake campaign was started, along with the revelation of facts.
The chief minister said this initiative is aimed at curbing misinformation in the southern state.
He directed the state authorities to take action against malicious propaganda upon identifying the culprits behind the fake news.
"No one has the right to deliberately damage the reputation of an individual or the system with personal intentions," noted Reddy.
He observed that there is a need to hold back malicious campaigns which are intended to mislead the masses on government's ambitious programmes as well.
According to the CM, people in the state have a right now what is real and the state joins Karnataka and Telangana in starting dedicated fact check websites to propagate truth and destroy fake news.
This development comes at a time when several political party aligned vernacular dailies and new channels spew venom on a regular basis without control, vitiating the atmosphere in the state and generating false panic.
It can also be recalled that a national party leader, who is spending considerable time in the state, recently grabbed the opportunity to pass off a 7-year-old video featuring pastor Praven Chakravarty as if it happened now.
Chakravarthy's video emerged during the time when Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy was the CM of united AP, before Nara Chandra Babu Naidu became the CM in 2014, prior to the bifurcation of united AP.
A couple of days ago, Guntur rural police nipped fake news in the bud when some politicians made false news viral on social media from Edlapadu village in the district.
Several politicians are posting fake news on a daily basis, misinforming the public to reap political dividends.