UP Police Launches 'Digital Warrior' campaign ahead of Kumbh, students to be trained to counter fake news

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh)[India], December 21 : In preparation for the grand Kumbh Mela, the UP Police has launched a unique initiative to tackle the growing menace of fake news and cybercrime in the state. The campaign aims to train school, college, and university students to identify and counter fake news and cyber threats effectively.
Speaking to ANI, Prashant Kumar Director General of Police (DGP) said, Since 2018, the police have been engaging "Digital Volunteers," and in 2023, with the addition of community features on WhatsApp, the reach of these volunteers expanded further. At that time, over one million digital volunteers were tasked with staying connected to local police stations and providing information about small incidents happening at the village or neighbourhood level. This allowed the police to receive real-time information and send response teams to resolve issues before they escalated."
Currently, approximately 10 lakh individuals serve as digital volunteers, while about 2 lakh police personnel are part of these community groups.
DGP Futher added as time passed, it became evident that social media reach extended beyond WhatsApp, and cybercrime was evolving. In response to these challenges, the decision has been made to rename the existing digital volunteers as "Digital Warriors." Efforts will be made to encourage people from schools and colleges to join this initiative through workshops and registration via Google Forms, where their contact numbers will be collected.
In addition," The police are working towards establishing "Cyber Clubs" in schools and colleges. These clubs will be led by digital warriors who will conduct workshops to explore new ways to assist the police, prevent cybercrimes, and raise social awareness. A nodal teacher will be appointed in each school or college to coordinate with the administration", DGP Prashant told to ANI.
These initiatives are also being aligned with the upcoming Kumbh Mela, a historic event for Uttar Pradesh and the country, where approximately 30 to 40 crore people will participate in the month-long gathering in Prayagraj. The police aim to ease the difficulties of attendees, ensuring their journey and spiritual activities are supported. To address these challenges, the police will utilize the help of digital warriors to spread awareness and prevent cybercrimes through various social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegram.
The Uttar Pradesh Police's role in the DigitalWarriors initiative involves a network of social media influencers and college/university students tasked with four key responsibilities. These include combating misinformation, raising awareness about cybercrime, serving as cyber trainers to educate the public, and promoting police campaigns and achievements through social media platforms.