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After weeks of uncertainty, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government has restructured the Tamil Nadu Fact Check Unit, renaming it the Information Integrity Desk (IID), and appointed the party’s online fan club founder Guru, popularly known as Guru Thalaiva, to head the newly restructured unit.
The Tamil Nadu Fact Check Unit, which functioned as a single entity, has now been divided into three units. Guru, the founder of the Online Thalapathy Fans Club, will head the IID, while Prasanna, who was part of the TVK IT wing, has been appointed project lead.
According to government sources, Guru Thalaiva works with a private company and has no prior experience or proven track record of handling misinformation or disinformation. He has been involved in Vijay’s Makkal Mandram (VMI) activities for the past 15 years and was part of TVK’s social media team.
Sujitha has been appointed Public Relations Officer to coordinate with district PROs and PROs of various departments on disseminating government-related information. In addition, TVK IT wing coordinator Dhivya has been appointed Special Officer of the Social Media Desk under the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR).
According to official sources, the core mandate of the IID remains combating misinformation and disinformation. The IID will continue to identify misinformation and manipulated content circulating on digital platforms, verify claims with government departments, publish evidence-based fact checks, and intervene quickly to prevent the spread of panic or false information.
Sources told TNM that the restructuring has been carried out keeping present-day requirements in mind. "The Tamil Nadu government has appointed a nodal officer to coordinate with the IID and ensure seamless coordination between various departments."
Apart from the Information Integrity Desk, the DIPR has also established a separate Social Media Desk to oversee the government’s communication on digital platforms.
Dhivya has been appointed Special Officer of the Social Media Desk and will serve as the quality clearance authority before official content is disseminated across the government’s social media platforms.
The Tamil Nadu Fact Check Unit was constituted by the previous DMK government on October 6, 2023. It was headed by Iyan Karthikeyan, former Editor-in-Chief of the fact-checking platform YouTurn.in, who was appointed Mission Director.
The FCU was responsible for fact-checking and also monitored hate speech on social media platforms. Several cases of hate speech were taken up during the previous DMK government's tenure, and action was taken against those involved.
