ECI acts on over 11,000 unlawful social media posts; AI content to be labelled, removed within 3 hours of notice
The Election Commission of India said on 19 April 2026 that over 11,000 unlawful social media posts had been acted upon since the 15 March poll announcement, and that misleading AI-generated content must be acted upon within three hours of notice.
Summary
The Election Commission of India said on 19 April 2026 that, since the announcement of the Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and West Bengal elections on 15 March 2026, more than 11,000 social media posts or URLs that violated the Model Code of Conduct or spread false narratives had been acted upon through removal, FIRs, clarifications and rebuttals. ECI said misleading or unlawful AI-generated content must be acted upon within three hours of being brought to a platform's notice, and that parties and candidates must label synthetic campaign content as 'AI-Generated', 'Digitally Enhanced' or 'Synthetic Content'. It reiterated the 48-hour silence period under Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. From 15 March to 19 April, 3,23,099 complaints were filed on the cVIGIL app, and 96.01% were resolved within the 100-minute time limit.
Key facts
- Posts acted upon
- Over 11,000 since 15 March 2026
- AI content
- Action within 3 hours of notice; mandatory labels
- Legal basis
- IT Act 2000, IT Rules 2021, Model Code of Conduct
- Silence period
- 48 hours, Section 126, RP Act 1951
- cVIGIL complaints
- 3,23,099 (15 March–19 April)
- Resolved in 100 minutes
- 96.01%
Practice MCQs 3 questions
Within how many hours of being brought to a platform's notice must misleading or unlawful AI-generated election content be acted upon, as directed by ECI in 2026?
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Correct answer: D — 3 hours
ECI directed that misleading or unlawful AI-generated content be acted upon within 3 hours of notice.
Under ECI's cVIGIL system, within what stipulated time were 96.01% of complaints resolved during the 2026 Assembly elections (15 March–19 April)?
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Correct answer: A — 100 minutes
Of 3,23,099 cVIGIL complaints, 3,10,393 (96.01%) were resolved within the stipulated 100 minutes.
Consider the following statements regarding election-related provisions reiterated by ECI in April 2026: 1. Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 prohibits display of election matter in polling areas during the 48 hours before the conclusion of poll. 2. Labelling of AI-altered campaign content is optional for candidates if the content is factually accurate. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: A — 1 only
Only 1 is correct. Section 126 imposes the 48-hour silence period; ECI requires all synthetically generated or AI-altered campaign content to be clearly labelled, regardless of accuracy.