New Delhi: Delhi Police Saturday said it had identified around 180 more social media handles allegedly involved in spreading misinformation related to the Jantar Mantar protest.Addressing a news conference, DCP Rohit Rajbir Singh said that during the weeks-long protest, police observed a surge in social media posts, many of which were manipulated, fabricated or designed to mislead the public.Singh pointed out that false information could go viral within minutes, making it crucial to verify claims before sharing them. “Delhi Police teams are monitoring social media platforms round the clock to identify fake narratives and issue factual clarifications before misinformation spreads widely,” he said.The officer cited several examples of misinformation circulated during the protest. One viral claim falsely alleged that a woman police officer had died during the demonstrations.

Another post by a politician claimed that central govt was preparing to launch a major crackdown on protesters at Jantar Mantar. Police said both claims were verified and found to be false, adding that several other fabricated posts were also circulated to create panic and mislead the public.Police said fake materials included videos falsely claiming that Army was deployed at the protest site, as well as a manipulated video featuring activist Sonam Wangchuk. Earlier, Delhi Police had got around 400 social media handles blocked for allegedly disseminating fake news linked to the protest.During the investigation, police also identified more than 400 Pakistan-linked social media handles that were allegedly involved in spreading misleading content about the protest. Investigators said these accounts shared AI-generated videos, deepfakes, edited photographs and fabricated posts to amplify false narratives and create confusion.Meanwhile, Saturday, Delhi Police debunked another viral social media post that falsely portrayed a graphic image of a blood-covered hand holding a portrait of BR Ambedkar over a police barricade as a real incident from the protest. Police said the image was fabricated and urged people not to share unverified or misleading content.“The image is completely synthetic and AI-generated. It does not represent any real-life event, actual casualty or physical violence. Sharing AI-generated media without appropriate context or disclaimers can create panic and spread misleading information,” Delhi Police said in a post.