2024: Telugupost Leads the Fight Against Misinformation

Telugupost has been publishing explainer articles and videos educating audience on the sophisticated tactics the scamsters are employing to target unsuspecting individuals and steal their identities and money. Telugupost also published several videos alerting the audience about the dangers of social media and also suggested some of the best features of social media to be safe.

Celebrities & elections

AI also played a crucial part in the scams that impacted India, deepfake videos showing celebrities like eminent industrialists like Narayana Murthy, Mukesh Ambani, Sudha Murthy, etc. We also witnessed deepfake videos depicting legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Mr Beast promoting online gaming apps. AI generated images and videos also were in circulation on social media in 2024 along with AI generated audio. AI generated audio or voice cloning was also popular during the elections, where AI generated audio has been used to create misleading social media posts against political leaders.

Most Viral

Telugupost’s most read fact check was about a huge opium bird that can hypnotise and kill people within seconds. The video actually originated from a popular meme on the social media. When we researched the video, it showed a costume version of the opium birds that is a CGI creation, but not a real bird.

The year also witnessed misinformation related to Ayodhya Ram Mandir during the time of the consecration ceremony. Videos and images showing massive crowds seen on the streets in support of the event went viral during this time period.

During the general elections, we witnessed misinformation flow related to topics like pre-poll surveys and politicians taking dig against each other, including a lot of misinformation. Along with the general elections, Andhra Pradesh assembly elections also were held, which saw a pool of political misinformation. Telugupost debunked several posts spreading misinformation. Claims about poll dates, VVPATs, electoral process, leaders misusing the voting system and circulating money in an attempt to buy votes, exit polls etc. have been in circulation.

Floods, landslides

We also debunked misinformation declaring give aways by companies like Tanishq, Dmart, etc. Claims related to health and climate change were also rampant in 2024. Old flood videos went viral whenever there have been floods in any area, for example, Dubai floods, floods in Amaravati, Kerala and Chennai. Videos showing crocodiles in water were spread with claim that the dangerous reptiles rushed into cities along with the flood waters. Landslide videos from around the world were in circulation after the devastating landslide took place in Wayanad.

Celebrity related misinformation, especially women celebrities, has also been a challenge to debunk. Telugupost verified claims related to deaths of celebrities like Steffi Graf, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bacchan, etc. Defaming posts related to women were also rampant, for example, wife of Captain Anshuman Singh, daughter of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, daughter of Manmohan singh, Rakul Preet Singh, etc. Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding was also a talk of the town, making it yet another reason for spread of misinformation.

Health

Telugupost also debunked misinformation related to Health.

Political misinformation was also rampant in Andhra Pradesh, before, during and after assembly elections and the takeover of the government by the alliance parties. When idols in a temple in Hyderabad were desecrated by a miscreant, several related visuals were in circulation claiming incidents happening in Telugu states.

Defaming ruling parties and the governments has also been a trend where misleading claims about the governance have been making rounds on social media, many verified by Telugupost and marked as untrue. Misinformation related to Bangladesh, especially racism against the minority Hindus and also women's safety has been in circulation after major incidents like the Kolkata rape case and also unrest in Bangladesh

Some interesting, some concerning scripted videos were also popular during 2024, which raised several concerns on the intentions of the miscreants who spread them. In an attempt to expand the audience to different states, Telugupost expanded to regional Indian languages like Odia, Tamil and Malayalam also and actively debunked misinformation spreading in the local languages since then.