ECP urges caution after fake CEC accounts surface

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Wednesday urged the public to ignore propaganda attributed to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja.

In a statement, the ECP has called on the masses to be wary of fake messages and false propaganda after a fake WhatsApp account attributed to the election commissioner surfaced using his name and picture.

The development comes as political activities have sped up — following the allotment of election symbols — taking pace with major political parties kicking off their election campaigns after much ado.

The ECP's warning on fake accounts and propaganda comes in the backdrop of the fact that owing to the country's population comprising of the younger generation, social media platforms are likely to play a key role in the shaping of narratives as polls draw near.

The number of internet and social media users in Pakistan has witnessed a significant boost in recent years — hence increasing the risk of misuse of technology and social media.

As per a report from Digital Pakistan 2023, the number of internet users in Pakistan swelled to a record 87.35 million in January last year, showing a 4.4 million increase between 2022 and 2023.

The number of social media users also increased to a record 71.70 million in 2023, including 37.30 million users of Facebook, 71.70 million users of YouTube, 12.95 million on Instagram, and 16.51 million on TikTok.

Similarly, about 11.95 million people are using Facebook Messenger, 9.30 million Linkedin, 25.70 million Snapchat, and 4.65 million users of X — formerly Twitter — in the wake of an increase in mobile connections to 191.8 million in January 2023 in Pakistan.