A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition by AIADMK IT wing joint secretary R Nirmal Kumar was filed in the Madras High Court on Monday, challenging the constitution of a Fact Checking Unit (FCU) by the Tamil Nadu government, citing that it is an attack on the freedom of speech and an attempt to curb the voice of Opposition parties.The AIADMK contended that there cannot be an FCU outside the framework of the police department.
The DMK government in Tamil Nadu last week issued orders to form a Fact Check Unit (FCU), with 80 staff members, to deal with “misinformation and disinformation pertaining to the State government” emanating from “all media platforms”.
Iyan Karthikeyan, who ran a YouTube fact-check channel, has been appointed as the mission director. It has been announced that the FCU will function under the state government’s Special Programme Implementation Department.
