PATNA: Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police, the nodal agency for handling cybercrime cases, has lodged at least 21 FIRs against 25 social media handles, including those of major political parties RJD, BJP and Congress, for allegedly posting “inflammatory content” & “spreading hatred along religious & caste lines” amid ongoing poll campaign.DIG Manavjit Singh Dhillon of EOU, addressing a presser Wednesday, said a special cell was formed to monitor social media activities during poll period. “Any verified objectionable or rumour-spreading content is immediately reported to the respective platforms,” he said.Among the 21 FIRs, six were lodged specifically against AI-generated videos & deepfakes aimed at disrupting election process. A separate FIR was filed against four YouTube channels for broadcasting songs that spread fear, enmity and hatred among communities. Action was taken against 17 such video links, with takedown requests sent to the platforms. So far, notices issued to intermediaries like X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube have led to removal, locking or takedown of 184 objectionable posts, handles & links, the officer added. The DIG said the handles repeatedly posting objectionable material are on a watch list and legal blocking action.
