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In a first decision of its kind, the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government would be ''fact checking'' and monitoring ''negative news'', which could "tarnish" the image of the state government.
In a recent letter to the district officials, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath's principal secretary Sanjay Prasad has asked the divisional commissioners and district magistrates to take cognisance of any ''negative news'', which portrayed the state government in bad light and hurt its image, and seek clarification from the concerned media house that has published the news in question.
''It is essential to immediately fact check the negative news as it tarnishes the image of the state government.....the concerned district magistrate should write to the media house for clarification if it is found that a specific incident has been twisted by using misleading facts,'' Prasad said in his letter.
The letter has been sent to all the 18 divisional commissioners and 75 district magistrates in the state.
The official said in the letter that a weekly report on such ''negative news'' would be uploaded on the Integrated Grievance Redressal System (IGRS) and shared with the district officials for necessary action.
He also said that the state information department monitors such ''negative news'' in newspapers and other media.
The government officials said that the idea behind the decision was to make sure that "false and misleading" information was not disseminated among the people.