The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday once again stressed strict compliance with legal rules for social media and AI-generated content during the 2026 state assembly elections across five states and Union Territories. It said any unlawful content must be taken down within three hours.
The poll body also shared data showing the scale of monitoring. Since March 15, more than 11,000 violative social media posts have been acted upon, while 3,10,393 complaints were resolved through the C-Vigil app. This reflects a strong response system, with a 96.01% resolution rate within just 100 minutes.
Strict rules for AI content and social media monitoring
“Political parties, candidates and campaign representatives are required to ensure that any synthetically generated or AI-altered content used for campaigning is clearly labelled as “AI-Generated”, “Digitally Enhanced” or “Synthetic Content”, along with disclosure of the originating entity, to maintain transparency and voter trust,” said ECI in a release.
The Commission also made it clear that it is actively monitoring posts that could violate the Model Code of Conduct or disturb public order. It said content considered as “MCC violations, disrupt or which have the potential to disrupt law and order, false narratives” in Assam, Keralam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry is being closely tracked by State IT Nodal Officers under the IT Act.
Silence period rules and legal provisions highlighted
The ECI further underlined that all synthetic campaign material must follow the 48-hour silence period rules. This period is crucial to ensure voters can make decisions without last-minute influence or campaigning noise.
“The Commission also reiterated provisions under Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which prohibit the display of any election matter in polling areas during the 48-hour silence period prior to the conclusion of the poll. Media platforms, including television, radio, print and social media, are required to strictly adhere to these provisions,” the poll body added.
Voting schedule and complaint reporting system
The Commission also pointed out that citizens, political parties and candidates can report violations using the C-Vigil module available on ECINET, making the process more accessible and faster.
The Model Code of Conduct has been in force in Assam, Keralam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry since the election schedule was announced on March 15. Voting has already taken place in Assam, Puducherry and Keralam on April 9. Tamil Nadu will vote on April 23, while West Bengal will go to polls on April 23 and 29. Counting of votes across all regions is scheduled for May 4.
(With inpiuts from ANI)
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Khalid Qasid is a media enthusiast with a strong interest in documentary filmmaking. He holds a Master’s degree in Convergent Journalism from AJK MCRC. He has also written extensively on esports at Sportsdunia. Currently, he covers world and general news at NewsX Digital.
