Posts misleadingly link order to monitor govt employees' social media to India's Punjab

"Punjab Govt has issued order (sic) to monitor social media accounts of their employees so that if anyone criticizes gvt, they're caught immediately," reads a Twitter post that have shared the document here on February 21.

"Congratulations Arvind Kejriwal ji for becoming autocratic ruler in independent nation!"

Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi's chief minister, is the leader of the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which governs India's capital territory and Punjab state.

The document, titled "Social Media", reads in part: "It was observed that some government employees are openly criticizing/commenting adversely on the government policies/achievements etc. on the social media platforms.

"Chief Secretary directed all Administrative Secretaries to monitor the social media networks on regular basis and identify the employees criticizing/commenting adversely on the government policies/ achievements etc. on the social media and issue notices to these employees under intimation to the General Administration Department."

The document bears a signature that appears to read "Farukh Paul".

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Screenshot of the misleading Twitter post taken on March 2, 2023. ( Uzair RIZVI)

The document was also shared alongside a similar misleading claim on Facebook here and here, as well as on Twitter where it has been retweeted more than 600 times.

But branding the claim "fake news" in this statement on Twitter on February 21, the AAP said the document was originally issued by the Jammu and Kashmir government and did not relate to Punjab.

"A notification of J&K Admin is FALSELY portrayed as belonging to Punjab Govt," its statement reads in part.

In a follow-up tweet, the AAP shared a longer document containing the same circulating ordinance -- with the acronyms "JKSSRB" and "JKPSC" highlighted.

These refer to two government agencies -- the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission -- in the Jammu and Kashmir region, control over which has been long been disputed by India and Pakistan.

The document's signatory Farukh Paul is an official in the region, as shown on this government website.

The same signature can be seen in an earlier document dated November 30, 2022.

Below is a screenshot comparison showing Paul's signature in the 2022 document (left) and the signature seen in the document circulating online (right):

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A comparison of the official's signature in a genuine document (left) and the signature in the misleading posts (right)

An AFP reporter based in Indian-administered Kashmir confirmed with local officials that the document came from the Jammu and Kashmir government.

Multiple news organisations, including the Press Trust of India, Free Press Kashmir and the Kashmir Observer, have also reported about the order to monitor the social media accounts of employees within the Jammu and Kashmir government.

As of March 7, 2023, no similar order has been published by the Punjab government or on the official social media channels of the AAP.

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