Hyderabad, Nov 14 (IANS): Election authorities in Telangana have withdrawn 15 advertisements of three major parties as their content was distorted and misused on various social media platforms.

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Tuesday clarified that advertisements withdrawn relate to content which was distorted and misused on various social media platforms by individuals/political parties.

Six of these advertisements are of the Congress party, five of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and four of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

The State Level Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) issues certification for advertisements by political parties. Since October 9, 2023 over 416 advertisements by various Political Parties have been certified.

Certification of 15 advertisements by various political parties have been withdrawn after it was found that these advertisements were being morphed/distorted/misquoted etc and used beyond the purview of certification for which it was originally approved, said a statement from the office of the CEO.

It is also observed that political parties are running advertisements on YouTube and similar platforms without prior approval. This also requires approval from MCMC, it said.

It mentioned that three meetings were held with various political parties on November 8, 10 and 11 wherein the guidelines for certification were explained in detail.

Discrepancies/issues related to certification of advertisements and their use/misuse on various platforms like print/electronic/digital including social media were informed.

Further, they were informed that certification can be withdrawn upon violation as per extant rules. Representatives from all political parties had attended the meetings and assured to follow the guidelines.

The CEO has requested electronic media including Radio/FM Channels to cross check the content of the advertisement by political parties and verify before telecasting.