Indian Account Verification is Voluntary
The Claim
Social media accounts need to be verified with a government ID card.
News posted on
Emerging story
Following India's new guidelines to regulate social media, users started circulating claims that all social media accounts need to be verified by a government ID.
All SM accounts need to be verified with a government ID through mobile phones within three months.
— Prashant Patel Umrao (@ippatel) February 25, 2021
Welcome step. Internet is safer & more responsible now.
Govt announces intermediary Guidelines & Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021 to safeguard users’ rights.#ottguidelines
All SM accounts need to be verified with a government ID through mobile phones within three months.
— Akshay S.Deshpande (@OfficialAkshay7) February 25, 2021
Welcome step. Internet is safer & more responsible now.
Govt announces intermediary Guidelines & Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021 to safeguard users’ rights.#ottguidelines pic.twitter.com/N3eb9zam8m
All accounts must have right to verification.
— Mahaguru Kritakritacharya (@Kritakritachary) February 27, 2021
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar's investigation found this claim to be misleading. A press release from The Indian Ministry of Electronics and IT only mentioned a voluntary user verification mechanism for all social media accounts.
The press release states that users who wish to verify their accounts shall be provided an appropriate mechanism to do so, and visible marks of verification will be provided.
The official Twitter account for The Indian Press Information Bureau also stated that account verification is not mandatory.
#Claim
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) February 26, 2021
All social media accounts need to be verified with a Government ID through mobile phones within 3 months.#PIBFactCheck
This claim is Misleading. Verification of accounts is not mandatory.#Conclusion
Misleading
Read here- https://t.co/aQr6PDlePs pic.twitter.com/vPaqQqasqo
This viral post is misleading as the government has not announced that all social media accounts need to be verified with a government ID.
