ECI warns against AI-generated social media content; 11,000 posts taken down so far

New Delhi, April 19 Ahead of the Assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday cautioned candidates and political parties against the misuse of AI-generated or manipulated content, highlighting that 11,000 illegal social media posts have been removed since March 15.

“All stakeholders shall ensure responsible and ethical use of social media and digital platforms, in compliance with extant legal provisions including the Information Technology Act, 2000, IT Rules, 2021 and the Model Code of Conduct,” said the ECI in a statement.

The poll panel said 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.

“Social media content such as posts which are MCC violations, disrupt or which have the potential to disrupt law and order, false narratives against the polling process or machinery are being monitored and acted upon by the concerned State IT Nodal Officers notified under IT Act,” said the ECI.

The Commission had directed that any misleading or unlawful AI-generated or manipulated content shall be acted upon within three hours of being brought to the notice of the social media platforms.

“Since the announcement of elections on March 15, 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,” said the ECI.

The Commission also reiterated provisions under Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which prohibit the display of any election matter in polling areas during the 48-hour silence period prior to the conclusion of the poll.

Media platforms, including television, radio, print and social media, are also required to strictly adhere to these provisions, it said.

The ECI said citizens/political parties/candidates can report MCC violations using the C-Vigil Module on ECINET.

“From March 15 till April 19, 3,23,099 complaints have been lodged using the C-Vigil App in these elections. Of these, 3,10,393 complaints or 96.01 per cent were resolved within the stipulated time period of 100 minutes,” said the official statement.

Kerala, Assam and Puducherry went to the polls on April 9. West Bengal has voting in two phases -- April 23 and April 29. Tamil Nadu has a one-phase poll on April 23. Vote counting for all four states and the union territory will be held on May 4.

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