Rahul Gandhi rally: Delhi Police removes 300 posts, warns social media rumour-mongers

Delhi Police on Monday warned of strict legal action against a social media handle for a post allegedly spreading misinformation about police firing at a rally led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Delhi Police is monitoring various social media platforms to curb spread of misinformation in the wake of protests in the capital, with around 300 posts allegedly aimed at spreading rumours or creating public unrest taken down, police sources said.

The post in question claimed that Delhi Police had opened fire at Rahul Gandhi's rally, killing five workers, and urged people to come out on the streets and block Delhi, alleging that the situation was deteriorating and tensions were escalating.

In a post on X, Delhi Police said the handle @indiantiwari01 had a documented history of sharing doctored media, old footage and fabricated narratives to mislead the public.

"Do not fall for or amplify this rumour," police said, adding that spreading malicious rumours on social media was a punishable offence and strict legal action would be initiated against the handle.

The action comes days after police arrested a 24-year-old man for allegedly using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to create and circulate a fabricated video depicting a police officer sexually harassing a woman journalist during a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The accused, identified as Nadeem Ahmed, allegedly circulated the video falsely portraying a police personnel in an objectionable manner, police said. The incident is being investigated separately from the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against police personnel by women journalists.

The police have also approached social media platform X seeking the removal of objectionable and allegedly misleading content linked to the protests, sources said.

The social media monitoring exercise is aimed at identifying fabricated content, misleading claims and posts that could potentially disturb public order, they added.

Police teams are scanning online platforms, while further action is being taken against content found to be spreading misinformation or attempting to incite unrest, sources said.