The Fact Check Unit (FCU) under Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has identified over 97 fake news items as of March 19 (in 2025 alone), revealed Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & IT.
Addressing the Lok Sabha session on March 26, the Minister shared that in 2024, 583 fake news were identified, 557 in 2023, and 338 in 2022. Overall, the Ministry has flagged 1,575 fake news cases since 2022.
In 2025, the PIB FCU has received around 5,200 queries already, and 1,811 were actionable queries.
year.
The PIB Fact Check Unit takes suo-moto cognisance on fact-checking as well as receives complaints on its website or WhatsApp Hotline. The Unit segregates the received information after ascertaining whether it falls within the ambit of the FCU. The relevant complaints are researched using various fact checking tools and verified through authentic government open-source information available only on Government websites, notices, circulars, documents, and e-gazettes.
After verifying the authenticity of the received information from authorised sources, the FCU utilises the Information, Education & Communication (IEC) strategy to create awareness through creative content fit for dissemination on social media platforms. FCU then posts the fact-checked and correct information on its social media handles, the Minister shared.