Two years after he triggered a row by calling for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday said his remarks were twisted, and one group had spread something he had never said across the country.
“At an event two years ago, I called for the eradication of anything that prescribes inequality by birth. Immediately, my speech was twisted, and a group spread what I had not spoken about across the country. A godman even offered ₹10 lakh for my severed head,” he said at the concluding session of a three-day workshop on ‘Challenges of Social Media’ for National Service Scheme (NSS) students, organised by the Tamil Nadu Fact Check Unit.
“In India today, one fascist group has the basic objective of spreading fake news,” Mr. Udhayanidhi said.
“In two years, misinformation and disinformation are going to be the biggest threat in the world. Not only fake news, hate speech is also affecting the country in a big way. Minorities in particular are affected by hate speech,” he said.
Mr. Udhayanidhi also cited fake news being spread on migrant workers being attacked in Tamil Nadu.
“When compared to other States, Tamil Nadu won’t trust anything immediately. It is the soil of Periyar [E.V. Ramasamy],” he said.
“Periyar once said ‘don’t believe in something even if I say. Only believe it only if it is acceptable to your rational thought process and intelligence’,” Mr. Udhayanidhi said.
He asked students to act as watchdogs against fake news.
Published – September 04, 2025 01:06 am IST
