SHILLONG: The first ever social media and fake news workshop for Meghalaya Police was organised at the DGP’s conference hall on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters, social media consultant for Assam and Meghalaya Police, Salik Khan, said it is not only about the survival of the fittest, but the survival of the wittiest in the age of social media.
Khan was a resource person of the workshop along with Ravi Guria.
He recalled that a tweet of Meghalaya Police about drug peddlers selling Rasna in place of heroin had recently gone viral and said that the idea is to communicate with the GenX in their language such as memes, jokes and to be witty.
He observed that police officers are to be sensitised on how the social media works to ensure that they are well equipped while dealing with issues related to fake news, social media and cyber crimes. According to Khan, not keeping pace with today’s changing technological scenario will land the administration in trouble.
‘‘Not having Facebook and Twitter accounts can causeproblems as there is no official channel to communicate authentic news and refute fake news,” he said adding that there should be constant monitoring and busting of fake news to ensure that people get the right information.
He informed that Meghalaya Police has Facebook, Instagram and Twitter account, which started two months back and they already have 10,000 followers on Facebook.
Khan also recalled a recent video about Sikh families in Shillong being threatened which had gone viral. Having a social media account was significant as the Meghalaya Police released an advisory that the video was fake.
“With this training, we will open a new chapter in the history of Meghalaya Police,” he said.
Additional Director General of Police H Nongpluh said the law enforcing agencies bear the brunt of the development in technology and it is difficult to tackle fake news.
In this connection, he said that the training is important to ensure that officers are equipped and remain up-to-date while dealing with different situations. He urged the young police officers to also develop expertise in the field.
