Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued new instructions to political parties, candidates, and campaign representatives on how to handle synthetically generated or digitally altered content during election campaigns.
The Commission expressed concern over the misuse of highly realistic, artificially created content that portrays political leaders delivering misleading or electorally sensitive messages.
According to the ECI, such manipulative use of technology undermines the fairness of the electoral process and disrupts equal opportunities for all participants, which are essential for maintaining the integrity of political campaigning.
The poll body noted that technology capable of generating or modifying information can pose serious risks because it can easily appear genuine and mislead people, causing political stakeholders to draw false conclusions.
It emphasized that maintaining transparency and accountability is vital to safeguard electoral integrity and ensure that voters continue to have trust in the democratic process.
The Commission also referred to its earlier guidelines issued on May 6 and an advisory released earlier this year on the ethical use of social media and the mandatory labeling of synthetically created or modified content used in campaigns.
Using its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution, the ECI reminded all political parties of their duty to comply with the IT Rules, 2021, and follow all related advisories and directions.
Under the fresh directions, any altered or generated image, audio, or video used for campaigning must clearly carry a label such as “digitally enhanced” or “synthetic content,” covering at least 10% of the display area or the first 10% of the duration for audio material. For videos, the label must appear at the top of the screen. Each piece of such content must also reveal who created it through metadata or an accompanying caption. The guidelines prohibit publishing or sharing misleading or deceptive material that misrepresents anyone’s identity, appearance, or voice without consent. Any such content found on official party accounts must be removed within three hours of being detected or reported. Parties are also required to keep internal records of all synthetically created campaign material, including creator details and timestamps, for verification by the ECI.
These rules take effect immediately and will apply to all upcoming general and bye-elections until further notice. The ECI’s move follows the Union government’s recent release of draft amendments to the Information Technology Rules, 2021, which seek to set legal boundaries for synthetically generated and manipulated content. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has invited public feedback on the proposed changes by November 6.
Also Read:
