Fake video of chief election commissioner, case registered by Kerala cyber police

A case has been registered after a fake video of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, linked to the upcoming local body elections in Kerala, was found circulating on social media platforms, officials said on Saturday.

The Thiruvananthapuram City Cyber Police initiated the case after the doctored video was detected during routine cyber patrolling on Friday. The video, traced initially to the X platform, contained a fabricated photo and an edited clip falsely attributed to the Chief Election Commissioner. Police believe the same video may have been shared across other platforms as well.

The case has been filed against unidentified individuals under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 197(1)(d) for publishing false or misleading statements, Sections 340(1) and 340(2) for creating and using forged electronic records along with Section 66C of the Information Technology Act, which pertains to identity theft.

Officials said cyber surveillance has been intensified in view of the forthcoming local body elections and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll. The heightened monitoring is aimed at curbing attempts to circulate fake videos, misleading messages, and other forms of online misinformation.

Police added that several such propaganda photos and videos shared on various platforms in recent days have already been identified and taken down as part of the crackdown.