Spike in fake news and hate speech leading up to Election: NPOC

• Says decrease of violations compared to 2015
• 1,200 observers to be deployed 
• Commends EC for minimising fake news on social media

By Nuwan Senarathna

The National Polls Observation Centre (NPOC) yesterday said they had observed an increase in fake news and hate speech compared to the previous Presidential Election but overall election violations were lower compared to the 2015 Presidential Poll.

Speaking to media at the NPOC office in Colombo, National Organiser Rasanga Harischandra said an increase in fake news was seen, particularly on social media, higher in comparison to the previous Presidential Election in 2015. He insisted new mechanisms were needed to monitor such activities.

“We observed an increase in fake news shared on social media. This is a new trend compared to previous occasions. People are using social messaging platforms to spread fake news and sling mud at their opponents, which is challenging to monitor,” Harischandra said.

He commended the Election Commission (EC) for actions taken to prevent fake news being shared on social media. Harischandra noted the EC had already taken measures to remove fake news and had upheld election law.

“It is tough to track activities on social media, but the EC is doing a great job. Sometimes it takes a considerable amount of time to remove posts that are being shared on social media. In my view, that is the biggest challenge in stopping fake news.”

Harischandra noted that the NPOC would deploy 1,200 observers to monitor election activities. A total of 760 election violations were reported leading up to yesterday, out of which the highest number of violations were unlawful election promotions, Harischandra said.

Pic by Lasantha Kumara