Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday, 25 May 2026, issued a public caution urging citizens to remain alert against individuals who misuse social media to spread confusion and fabricate false narratives. Posting on X, Dhami acknowledged the positive uses of digital platforms while drawing attention to what he described as a 'negative and frustrated mindset' exploiting these spaces to destabilise social harmony.

In his post, Dhami wrote — 'जहां एक ओर सोशल मीडिया का उपयोग विभिन्न सकारात्मक कार्यों के लिए किया जा रहा है, वहीं कुछ नकारात्मक और कुंठित मानसिकता से ग्रसित लोग समाज में भ्रम फैलाने और झूठे नैरेटिव गढ़ने के लिए भी इसका दुरुपयोग कर रहे हैं।' — translating broadly to: 'While social media is being used for various positive purposes, some people afflicted with a negative and frustrated mindset are also misusing it to spread confusion and construct false narratives in society. We need to be alert and cautious about such people.'

Context

Pushkar Singh Dhami has served as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand since 2021 and is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He has regularly used his social media presence to address governance issues, promote tourism in the Himalayan state, and comment on digital citizenship. This latest post is directed at the general public and social media users, urging civic vigilance against the deliberate spread of misinformation.

The post includes a video, the contents of which were not independently described in available information, but the accompanying text positions the message as a broader advisory on responsible social media use rather than a response to any single identified incident.

Policy Backdrop

The concern over social media misuse has a well-established policy lineage at both the central and state levels. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 introduced mandatory fact-checking mechanisms and due-diligence obligations for digital platforms operating in India. These rules were designed to create accountability for the spread of false content and to establish grievance-redressal channels for affected users.

Between 2019 and 2020, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ran several public awareness campaigns targeting the circulation of fake news, particularly during periods of heightened social sensitivity. BJP-led governments at both the central and state levels have since periodically issued similar public cautions, framing the misuse of social media as a threat to social order and democratic discourse.

Stakeholders and Impact

The advisory is directed at the broad population of social media users across Uttarakhand and, by extension, the wider Indian digital public. Civil society organisations focused on digital literacy, platform safety advocates, and ordinary citizens who consume news and commentary through social media are all directly addressed by the Chief Minister's caution.

For the Uttarakhand government, which has invested significantly in positioning the state as a tourism and investment destination, the unchecked spread of false narratives carries reputational risks. Maintaining social harmony in a state with diverse religious and cultural communities remains a standing priority for the administration.

What's Next

Observers will watch for any follow-up administrative action from the Uttarakhand government, including possible directives on digital literacy programmes or coordination with central agencies for monitoring social media content. With Uttarakhand assembly elections due in 2027, the political and governance environment around digital information management is likely to receive increasing attention. Dhami's public messaging on this front signals that the administration intends to keep the issue of social media responsibility at the forefront of its public communication.