Kalyan Jewellers moves court after fake news on YouTube causes Rs 500-crore loss
Kerala, July 11: Kerala-based Kalyan Jewellers has claimed that fake news on social media led to it suffering a loss of around Rs 500 crore and has moved the Kerala High Court seeking supervision of social media websites.
The jewellery company, in its plea filed in the high court, says that fake videos claiming to show the seizure of counterfeit gold at its showrooms have been shared on social media websites such as YouTube. The fake videos are part of a malicious campaign against Kalyan Jewellers by business rivals, the brand further claims in its petition.
Terming the campaign as defamatory and misleading, Kalyan alleges that it has incurred losses running in to more than Rs 500 crores.
According to the plea, the name and logo of the company have been used in videos to portray what was a routine inspection in one of its Kuwait stores as a raid. The videos have been edited to make it seem like that a Kalyan jeweller showroom was inspected and jewellery from the store seized due to fraudulent practices by the company.
The original footage was of a routine inspection that Kuwaiti officials conduct on all jewellers in the country. They took some jewellery samples from the Kalyan jeweller store as part of their inspection.
This routine inspection has been incorrectly shown as evidence of Kalyan Jewellers selling fake gold and of authorities seizing that fake gold.
The petition has asked for greater control and supervision of social media sites stating that "How can a platform that does not have control over their own sites be allowed to function in India? It appears The Government of India does not have any control over these sites. "
In response, the Kerala High Court has issued a notice calling for the introduction of regulatory mechanisms to curb fake news on social media platforms.
Kalyan Jewellers has been fighting to curb alleged fake accusations made against it for months now. In a post on its official Facebook post, it said that three individuals were arrested by Kerala Police for spreading false information about it.
In March, five Indian expatriates were booked by the Dubai Police on charges of cybercrime and abuse via the internet for spreading false information about the company.
Kalyan Jewellers is a Kerala-based jewellery retailer with more than 120 showrooms in India and the Gulf. The brand has several high profile ambassadors, including Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif and Nagarjuna.
Courtesy: www.indiatoday.in
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Anura Kumar Dissanayake sworn in as Sri Lankan president
Colombo (PTI): Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka's ninth president on Monday, amid hopes that he will bolster the country's economy and eliminate corruption.
Dissanayake, 56, was sworn in by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya at the Presidential Secretariat.
Dissanayake, the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party's broader front National People’s Power (NPP), defeated his closest rival Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) in Saturday's election.
The election was the first to be held since mass protests unseated Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022 after the country suffered an economic crisis.
In his inaugural address to the nation, Dissanayake thanked outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe for respecting the people’s mandate and facilitating a peaceful transfer of power.
His swearing-in comes hours after Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena resigned from his post as part of a power transition in the country following the presidential election.
The country's Election Commission had to order an unprecedented second round of counting on Sunday after no candidate secured over 50 per cent votes needed to be declared the winner of Saturday's election.
Dissanayake won the election obtaining 5.74 million votes, with 105,264 preferences. Premadasa got 4.53 million votes with 167,867 preferences.
Dissanayake's anti-corruption message and his promise of a change in political culture resonated strongly with young voters who had been demanding system change since the economic crisis.
