ECI holds third media conference, CEC Gyanesh Kumar warns against poll misinformation

The Election Commission of India (ECI) held its Third One-Day Conference for Media and Communication Officers, bringing together Media Nodal Officers (MNOs), Social Media Nodal Officers (SMNOs), District Media Nodal Officers and District PROs, along with senior officers from State Departments of Public Relations. Around 200 officers from 10 States and Union Territories took part.

Chief Election Commissioner Shri Gyanesh Kumar, addressing the participants alongside Election Commissioner Dr. Vivek Joshi, said every action of the Commission rests on the Constitution of India, electoral laws and written instructions issued transparently over time. He cautioned officials about false narratives circulating on social media and asked them to engage proactively to stop the spread of misinformation, pointing to record voter turnouts in recent Assembly Elections as evidence of public trust in the electoral system.

Dr. Vivek Joshi told participants that AI-generated content, deepfakes and synthetic material intended to mislead are increasingly used by motivated actors to erode trust in institutions, and urged officers to counter such attempts using the Commission’s rules, instructions and guidelines.

The conference opened with an overview of communication strategy across the election cycle, covering ECINET and laws relating to media matters, followed by practical sessions on drafting and amplifying press notes, tackling misinformation, engaging young electors through Electoral Literacy Clubs, and communicating ECI initiatives to the public.

Participants also went through a demonstration of the preparation of electoral rolls, the polling process and the counting process in groups, followed by a walkthrough of the exhibition and media corner, and a question-and-answer session with the Commission.