By Omar Rashid
New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh police is enlisting social media ‘influencers’ and college students as “digital warriors” to publicise its work and bust fake news and tackle cyber crimes.
At present, around 18 lakh citizens are connected as “digital volunteers” for the police, said director general of police (DGP) Prashant Kumar. Over two lakh police personnel are also connected to them through various community groups on Whatsapp, said a police spokesperson.
The police in the Adityanath-led state had first launched a similar project in 2018, when it mobilised “digital volunteers” from different sections of the society to report crime, rumours, fake news and other illegal activities through Whatsapp groups. Last year, the police also added its personnel to these “Whatsapp Community Groups” to refute “misleading news” and publicise the “commendable work” done by them.
Now, with the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 round the corner, the state police have launched a new campaign to enlist students as well as social media influencers as “digital warriors.”
“It was felt that social media is not restricted to just Whatsapp but also exists on other platforms. Digital volunteers were available only on Whatsapp. Considering the threat of cyber crimes, we have started a new concept of digital warriors to check fake news and build awareness about cyber crime,” said Kumar.
The Uttar Pradesh police have clarified that the work done by digital warriors would be voluntary and unpaid.
In 2018, when the police started recruiting “digital volunteers,” they picked their candidates from among teachers, principals, retired soldiers, police pensioners, journalists, social activists, present and former councillors, present and former village heads and block development council members, student leaders, ASHA workers, village secretaries, doctors, kotedars, ANMs (Auxiliary Nurse Midwives), lawyers, top traders, priests and maulvis, homeguards, etc.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.
