NE POLITICAL BUREAU
NEW DELHI, APR 19
In a decisive push to safeguard electoral integrity, the Election Commission of India has tightened its oversight on social media and digital platforms, mandating swift action against unlawful and AI-manipulated content during the ongoing 2026 Assembly and by-elections across key states.
Reiterating the need for “responsible and ethical use of social media,” the Commission directed all stakeholders to comply with legal provisions under the Information Technology Act, IT Rules 2021, and the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
- ECI mandates 3-hour action window for misleading or AI-manipulated content
- Political parties must label synthetic content to ensure transparency and voter trust
- Over 11,000 unlawful posts flagged; FIRs, removals and rebuttals initiated
- 96% complaints resolved via C-Vigil within 100 minutes, says Commission
- Strict enforcement of 48-hour silence period under election law reiterated
In a significant directive, the ECI said, “Any misleading or unlawful AI-generated or manipulated content shall be acted upon within three hours of being brought to the notice of social media platforms.”
Transparency mandate for AI content
To curb deepfakes and digital misinformation, the Commission has made it mandatory for political actors to clearly disclose synthetic campaign material.
“AI-generated or digitally enhanced content must be labelled with clear disclosures such as ‘AI-Generated’ or ‘Synthetic Content’ along with the originating entity,” it stated, stressing that transparency is key to maintaining voter trust.
Massive monitoring drive across poll-bound states
With elections underway in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and West Bengal, authorities are actively tracking online violations.
“Posts violating MCC, spreading false narratives or disrupting law and order are being monitored and acted upon,” officials said.
Since the poll announcement on March 15, over 11,000 social media posts and URLs have been flagged, leading to content removal, FIRs, clarifications and rebuttals.
Vigil: Citizens at the forefront
The Commission highlighted the success of its citizen-driven complaint mechanism.
Through the C-Vigil module on ECINET, 3,23,099 complaints have been filed between March 15 and April 19.
“Of these, 96.01% were resolved within the stipulated 100-minute timeframe,” the ECI said, underlining its rapid-response framework.
Silence period rules reinforced
The Commission also reiterated strict compliance with Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, which bars election-related content during the 48-hour silence period before polling ends.
Media across television, print, radio and social platforms have been directed to adhere strictly to these norms.
A digital-era election watchdog
With AI-driven misinformation emerging as a key electoral risk, the ECI’s latest measures signal a shift towards real-time digital governance of elections.
“Ensuring free, fair and transparent elections in the digital age requires proactive monitoring and swift enforcement,” officials emphasised.
