Initiative: Campaigns on Online Safety and Fake News for Assam Police #TheThinkCampaign
Organization: Assam Police
Facebook: @police.assam
Twitter: @assampolice
Website: www.police.assam.gov.in
Location: Assam, India
In the aftermath of the tragic Karbi Anglong incident of lynching following misinformation on social media in July 2018, which triggered a violent response from many sections calling for “revenge” and violence, Assam Police revamped its Social Media cell and felt that there’s a need to raise awareness among citizens on fake news, rumour mongering and mob violence. To do so, they focussed on the connections that can form between users and the objects they use/see, and the emotions that can arise from them. The emotions a graphic elicits can strongly influence users’ perceptions of it. They created content to raise awareness and engage the audience with informative, witty and humorous graphics and multimedia. The theme of the graphics and videos included topics, such as Fake News, Misinformation, Cyber Safety, Mob Violence and more. It’s the first time an Indian State police department used pop culture and design elements on social media to address the prevailing issues of mob violence and rumour mongering on social media.
