In 2024, the Information Disorder Tracking Unit had conducted 537 fact checks, averaging around nine per day. Of these, 39 were sent for a legal review, resulting in 18 FIRs. (Image generated using AI)Two years after its trial run, the Karnataka government’s Information Disorder Tracking Unit is set to be transformed into a full-fledged wing under the Home Department.The unit had a 90-day trial run between March and July 2024, during which it tracked thousands of fake news posts and carried out fact checks on digitally altered photographs and videos. However, the unit was left on the back burner for two years.Highly placed sources in the Home Department told The Indian Express that the fake news tracking unit was being revived. “An official announcement will be made shortly,” the source said.Following the trial run, a proposal was placed before the Home Department to integrate the unit with a legal cell and an enforcement agency. The need to ensure seamless coordination between the three had delayed the unit’s full-fledged launch, the source added.Since both the Home Department and the IT/BT Department are handled by a single minister, the process of formalising the unit has gathered pace. “All the issues are being ironed out,” the source said.Also Read | Karnataka launches Praja Seva ministry for faster public grievance redressalPolitics and elections topped fake news chartsWhen the Karnataka government first announced the unit, it came under fire from civil society groups. Petitions submitted to the government flagged concerns about restricting freedom of expression, prompting the government to seek assistance from civil society groups and fact-checking media organisations to allay concerns.During its trial run, fake news related to politics and elections topped the list of categories under which fact checks were carried out. Around 34 per cent of the fact checks were related to political developments and 20 per cent to elections and voting, as the trial run coincided with the Lok Sabha polls.Story continues below this adThe Information Disorder Tracking Unit had conducted 537 fact checks, averaging around nine per day. Of these, 39 were sent for a legal review, resulting in 18 First Information Reports. The unit also screened an average of 7,800 articles per day to screen for misinformation and flagged 319 of them.