New Delhi, Jan 1 (IANS) The Delhi government’s Education Department has filed a formal police complaint against attempts to spread falsehoods and create a fake narrative that school teachers in the city are proposed to be deployed for counting stray dogs, an official said on Thursday.

Director of Information Publicity Sushil Singh told mediapersons that though the department had issued a “Fake news” alert, such doctored videos and social media content, it was necessary to uncover the conspiracy behind it.

“The complaint has been filed to look into the role of individuals who have amplified the conspiracy through social media platforms,” he said.

He said the culprits were trying to achieve objectives other than political criticism.

Singh criticised the misuse of social media for spreading falsehoods and said the police have been requested to investigate.

Singh said, “The Directorate of Information and Publicity is addressing the media today to highlight the misuse of social media platforms and how falsehoods about government decisions are created through fake reels and videos.”

“The objective of the Directorate of Education and the Directorate of Information and Publicity is to set the record straight, explain how misinformation spreads, and outline the government’s response. A false narrative was circulated alleging that government school teachers were directed to count stray dogs,” he said, blaming some vested interests.

Many reels were circulated on social media, and in some clips, some people were impersonating teachers and giving false and misleading statements related to dog count duty, he said.

“This claim was baseless and fabricated, and it presented an impression that there was an official order, whereas there was no such directive,” he said.

The false claim originated from the misrepresentation of a routine circular by the Directorate of Education.

The Directorate has clarified that no such circular was issued. “This was not routine political criticism. It created public outrage and undermined the position of the Directorate,” he said.

–IANS

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