Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) has requested the National Elections Commission (NEC) and security forces to investigate if an organized group is behind the rumors on incidents that are related to national security.
This might be done to obtain an advantage at the coming Presidential election, stated the organization.
Police spokesman, SP Ruwan Gunasekera stated that nearly 5000 rumors that disrupt national security have been in circulation.
CaFFE said that there were fake rumors on bomb blasts in three separate areas on Wednesday (16) and that there is a possibility that these were deliberate.
The Acting Executive Director of CaFFE Manas Makeen stated that it is a serious issue if some parties believe that they can get an advantage in the election by spreading rumors.
“Immediate legal action must be taken against those who spread fake news on national security. CaFFE too has set up a monitoring body to collect and investigate rumors that are being spread across social media,” he said.
CaFFE stated that they have received 179 complaints regarding election law violations so far.
