Seniors help bust fake news, notices floating on social media

Students are getting confused by many fake notices, that are doing the rounds; especially those regarding the medium that the students will have to take while attempting the exams this year.

With the campus reopening after almost two years, many fake notices are doing the rounds; especially those regarding the medium that the students will have to take while attempting the exams this year. In a state of panic, many students are sharing and re-sharing these non-verified notices, which is causing worry among others as well. To tackle this concern, a couple of seniors, social media pages run by DU students, and even the varsity’s official website has started busting fake news and circulars.

As Delhi University opens after two years, many fake notices about mode of examination have begun floating around (Photo : Amal KS/HT)

“We’ve been operating in an online mode and fake notices have become quite common especially since the news of DU’s reopening came in. And the notices on letterheads not only get shared on social media statuses, but are also shared on students WhatsApp groups. It’s therefore very important to call out such fake news that’s circulating and causing misinformation,” says Abhishek Dutta, a second-year student of Ramanujan College, adding: “I’ve always clarified fake news on my social media profile, and my campus page. I also encourage students to only refer to DU’s website for legitimate news. I’ve been asking them to not forward any such circular without first checking it’s validity on the official website. The habit of rushing to forward unverified news on student groups has been causing havoc on campus and we need to stop it in the longer run. Even DU authorities have time and again asked students to stop circulating fake notices.”

Some social media pages dedicated to campus news, have also been playing a significant role in clarifying facts over false reports. Bhavesh Mudgal, a final-year student of Zakir Husain Delhi College and admin of Insta page named, DU.today, says: “We’re seeing more fake news and circulars being circulated on the internet, as compared to before the pandemic. And this is debilitating, especially for the first and second-year students who have exams knocking at their doors. They are new to college life, and are also the most susceptible to such news because they believe everything they see, and that in turn leads to panic and chaos, not to mention the mental stress. So we try our best to provide correct and accurate information and facts to the students. Our team works very hard to verify everything and expose every viral video, circular and news that’s out there. And we only feel delighted but also get a sense of relief each time we put up a genuine news or facts that help fellow students.”

Author tweets @FizzyBuddha