Government departments are establishing Quick Response Teams (QRT) to ensure timely response to misleading or fake content on social media platforms. According to reports from PTI, there is a need to engage with people through social media in a constructive manner and to ensure responses to rumours, misinformation, fake content, and misleading posts are issued in a timely manner. 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.
The official stated that ideally, the response from ministries should go in two hours of noting such content. As reported by PTI, 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. According to the official, the QRTs will verify such information and submit factual positions. They will also coordinate with the PIB fact check unit to ensure accurate information dissemination.
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. As reported by PTI, 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.
Departments such as power, agriculture and commerce have already constituted their QRTs. According to PTI, the functions and responsibilities of the respective teams include responding to fake/misleading content on social media, demonstrating the government's proactive approach to digital media management and public information verification.
