Srinagar, Jan 30, KNT: The National Conference has removed one of its social media handlers from his role as Social Media Advisor after he uploaded an erroneous and misleading post regarding the honorarium of Special Police Officers (SPOs). The controversial post, which featured a photograph of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, claimed that the party had successfully secured a hike in the honorarium for SPOs with the caption: “Another promise fulfilled.”
The misleading nature of the post according to the news agency Kashmir News Trust sparked an immediate backlash from netizens, who criticized the party for spreading misinformation and allegedly playing with the sentiments of SPOs. The erroneous post was subsequently removed from various National Conference-affiliated social media handles, but not before it had drawn significant attention and criticism online.
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In response to the controversy, the National Conference issued a clarification, acknowledging the mistake and emphasizing that the claim made in the post was unverified. The party stated, “A recent post concerning SPOs honorarium was put out from various handles connected to the party and the Chief Minister. This post should not have been put out and was done without any attempt to verify or cross-check the information. While we have been strongly advocating for an increase in the honorarium and we are making every effort to see this done, it hasn’t happened till now.”
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To address the issue, the party took strict action against the individual responsible for the misleading post, stating that the concerned person has been “taken to task” and relieved of his responsibilities as Social Media Advisor to the Vice President of JKNC.
The episode has reignited discussions about the responsible use of social media by political entities and the potential consequences of misinformation in public discourse. [KNT]
