1. Election Commission of India (ECI) organised the Third One-Day Conference for Media and Communication Officers, bringing together Media Nodal Officers (MNOs) and Social Media Nodal Officers (SMNOs), senior officers from the State Departments of Public Relations (DPRs) from various districts of the participating States/UTs.
2. Around 200 Media and Communication Officers from 10 States/UTs including Media Nodal Officers (MNOs) and Social Media Nodal Officers (SMNOs), along with District Media Nodal Officers/District PROs, and senior officers from the respective State Departments of Public Relations (DPRs).
3. Chief Election Commissioner Shri Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioner Dr. Vivek Joshi, addressed the participants during the conference.
4. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Shri Gyanesh Kumar emphasized that each and every action of the Commission is based on the Constitution of India, Electoral Laws and written instructions issued from time to time in a transparent manner. Cautioning the officials regarding false narratives propagated on social media, CEC Gyanesh Kumar said the Officials need to engage proactively to prevent the spread of misinformation. He added that the highest ever voter turnouts in the recent Assembly Elections are a proof of the trust that the Indian electors have in the country’s electoral system.
5. Addressing the participants, Election Commissioner Dr. Vivek Joshi, said that in today’s digital world, AI, Deepfakes, synthetic content with an intent to mislead and even mischievous content are spread by motivated actors to erode trust in institutions. Dr. Joshi urged the Media and Communication Officers to counter such attempts based on the rules, instructions and guidelines of the Commission.
6. The conference began with a wide overview of communication strategies across the election cycle - from roll to poll, ECINET, important constitutional provisions, laws relating to media matters.
7. Practical sessions were also organised on planning press notes and amplifying them through media and social media, tackling misinformation and narratives, engaging young electors through ELCs, communicating ECI initiatives to the public.
8. As part of the programme, participants were also taken through a demonstration of the preparation of Electoral Rolls, Polling Process, and Counting Process in groups, followed by a guided walkthrough of the Exhibition and Media Corner.
9. The sessions were also followed by a Question and Answer (Q&A) session between the participants and the Commission.

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PK/GDH/RP