As the Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025 remains pending, the state government has moved to address the surge in hate speech, fake news, and coordinated online misinformation. The Cabinet has approved an AI-powered monitoring system to track content across digital media and social platforms.
Except for recognised media outlets, the Home Department will bring the broader digital news ecosystem and social media platforms under an AI-driven monitoring framework. On February 5, the Cabinet cleared the deployment of the Social Media Analytics Solution, a Rs 67.26 crore system that officials say will help detect malicious content and support administrative decision-making.
“This is not only for fact-checking, but also to identify manipulation on social media platforms and digital media platforms. Right now, the AI software will be deployed to assess. Law will come later and action will be initiated,” Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said.
He said AI tools would enable the state to identify and respond to digital threats in real time. “The software will not only fact-check but analyse how information with criminal intent is manipulated and disseminated, especially in cases related to child trafficking, terror attacks, hate speech and fake news, eventually alerting authorities to act,” he said. Action will be taken under existing laws, with the possibility of dedicated legislation in the future.
Patil clarified that the system would not apply to mainstream news outlets, but warned that “fake media banners and houses will not be spared.” He added that the system would function without human interference and that “no party or government will benefit” from its deployment.
According to the Cabinet note, the software will comply with data sovereignty and localisation requirements, and its cloud architecture will follow MeitY guidelines. The Department of IT/BT concluded that the Information Disorder Tackling Unit (IDTU) project is crucial to controlling misinformation ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
The system will use a proprietary, dynamic algorithm with continuously updated AI and machine-learning components to keep pace with evolving misinformation tactics. It will generate real-time alerts, create geo-specific threat maps, and detect digital risks such as hate speech, deepfakes, bot networks, multilingual narratives, and subject-based manipulation.