- 16 hours ago
In this episode of Super 6, the focus is on the Karnataka government's plan to deploy an AI-based social media monitoring system at an estimated cost of ₹67.2 crore to detect fake news, hate speech, and cyber threats in real-time.
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00:00Hi, good evening and a very warm welcome. I'm Suesha Samant, you're watching Super 6 and our top focus this evening on the AI monitoring system that the Karnataka government wants to execute at a cost of about 67 crore rupees, where this has sparked mega furor.
00:17BJP is calling it a surveillance monster. They are saying that the Siddharamaya government is wanting to snoop, whereas the Congress in Karnataka is saying that this is to track fake news, misinformation and citizen safety is above all.
00:31Now, whether this is censorship or a crackdown on hate, we'll try and understand in this edition. First, a quick check of the top headlines we're tracking for you this evening.
00:39Suicide blast at a mosque in Pakistan's Islamabad that has killed at least 31 people over 165 who also were reportedly injured.
00:50Now, according to the Pakistan media, the suicide blast targeted the Shia meeting hall around Friday press.
00:56Emergency has now been declared by authorities in Park capital.
00:59A tragic incident that has surfaced from Delhi's Janakpuri, where a motorcyclist died after falling into an open pit allegedly dug by the Dhillijal board.
01:11The deceased has been identified as Kamal, a resident of Kailashpuri, who was returning home late at night from his office in Rohini.
01:19Amadmi Parti's Lucky Obray, who has been shot dead by unknown assailants, Lucky Obray was shot dead outside a Gurudwara in Jalandhar's mortal town.
01:30Cops have now initiated a probe into Lucky Obray's murder.
01:34Lucky was outside the Gurudwara when the assailant opened fire at him.
01:40Is flying no longer safe or comfortable?
01:43Examination of 754 Indian aircrafts show recurring defects.
01:48Indigo tops the chart, with 148 out of 405 flights identified as having recurring defects.
01:56Violent protests break out against Chief Advisor of Bangladesh Government, Dr. Yunus Khan, outside his residence in Dhaka.
02:03Protesters clash with security forces in Dhaka.
02:05The development comes just six days ahead of the general elections in the country.
02:09U.S. Embassy in Iran issued a security alert early Friday, urging American citizens to leave Iran now and prepare departure plans that don't rely on U.S. government assistance.
02:24The notice comes ahead of U.S. and Iran's scheduled talks in Oman.
02:29Pollution is not a priority for them, but they will spend to save themselves from toxic air.
02:37405 air purifiers purchased between 2020 and 2025 for government offices.
02:46Ghuskhor Pandit, an upcoming Netflix thriller starring Manoj Bajpayee, has embroiled in a controversy over its title.
02:53Protests by Brahmin community broke out in Mathura and Dhopal condemning the title.
02:58The makers clarified that the title only referred to a fictional character in the movie and did not intend to target any caste, religion or community.
03:07Teen sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who lights out the under-19 World Cup final with a blistering 175-run blitz,
03:14the 14-year-old's record-breaking knock puts India firmly in control, adding a 400-plus total against England.
03:21Team India faces a major setback ahead of the T20 World Cup.
03:26Pass bowler Harshit Rana is likely to be ruled out with joint tenderness.
03:31Captain Surya Kumar Yadam, who said that the injury does not look good.
03:39And on to our top story.
03:40Karnataka will soon deploy an artificial intelligence-based tool to monitor social media in a bid to tackle fake news.
03:47Misinformation and emerging digital threats across online platforms.
03:52The state cabinet has approved the implementation of an AI-driven social media analytics solution
03:57at an estimated cost of Rs. 67.2 crore.
04:01But politics that continues to erupt.
04:04Now, according to officials, the system will monitor social media platforms and other digital communication channels
04:10in real time to detect fake news, hate speech, misleading content, online abuse, cyber threats and harmful narratives.
04:19BGP, on the other hand, is alleging that the system is made to snoop on personal information,
04:24putting the privacy of individuals at risk through state-sponsored surveillance
04:28and constitutes a direct assault on privacy.
04:32They claim Karnataka is turning into a draconian police state
04:35with the government stifling free speech and hiding the truth for profits.
04:40In response, Karnataka minister accused BGP of spreading misinformation,
04:44being upset because they will be exposed and having done nothing for employment,
04:49while asserting that the AI bill will provide employment opportunities.
04:53We are just trying to curtail misinformation, fake news.
05:00There is a World Economic Forum reports on how fake news and fake narratives and misinformation
05:05is being used to hamper democratic processes across the world.
05:12And what are we doing? Illegal.
05:15We are just very clearly just stating what the information that you are reading
05:19is misinformation, malinformation, disinformation, or fake news.
05:25Why is BGP so upset about it?
05:27So it looks like their factories are going to be closed.
05:32It looks like many of their BGP leaders might become unemployed.
05:35So it looks like they are looking for a lot of anti-aliments.
05:47If you are looking for some of the anti-aliments or some of the problems,
05:51the social media is looking for it, it's good.
05:53But once it's implemented,
05:55So, your personal data will be more of the attack on it.
06:01That's why we keep it in mind.
06:03This is the plan for Rahul Gandhi or Congress.
06:25Now, according to the 2020 Act, CM chaired panel that approved of legal exemptions, but in the current Act, that is aligned with union AI guidelines is what the Congress is saying.
06:43Now, in the 2020 Act that allowed limits on users, transactions and even duration, but what the new AI Act proposes is controlled sandbox for startups.
06:55According to the previous 2020 Act, the focus was on lower risk projects and job creation, but in this new AI app or the monitoring system that supports genuine AI innovation.
07:07And in the previous Act, there were penalties of up to five lakh rupees for violations in on compliance, whereas this particular 2026 Act that prioritizes novel AI with safeguards.
07:22But this has turned into a massive political fight.
07:26Now, what is the Congress claiming versus what the BJP has alleged this Act is set to do?
07:31Now, according to the Congress, this Act enables responsible AI innovation and startups.
07:37But the BJP is saying that the Act gives excessive discretionary powers to the government in order to snoop into privacy of the citizens.
07:48According to the Congress in Karnataka, this will provide controlled sandbox with safeguards.
07:54But the BJP is alleging that legal exemptions can be bypassed as far as existing laws are concerned.
08:03Now, the Congress government in Karnataka saying that this aligns with the national AI guidelines.
08:09Whereas the BJP alleges that the risks are regulatory overreach and there is a possibility of misuse as well.
08:19Whereas the Karnataka government is saying that this will encourage jobs, it will help in investment and tech leadership.
08:25But the BJP says that there is a lack of clarity.
08:28And most importantly, when it will come to accountability or safeguards, that is where this app will not suffice.
08:36And let me now introduce our guests joining us this evening.
08:39First, of course, my colleague Cyrus John, who is the editor of Tech Today, who will really help us understand the technicalities of this AI monitoring system.
08:48Also, Dhruv Jati, Congress spokesperson joining us from Karnataka.
08:52And Surbhi Horigere, BJP Karnataka spokesperson.
08:57I want to thank you all for joining us on the broadcast.
09:00I firstly want to come to you, Surbhi, to why is the BJP raising so many objections against this AI monitoring system?
09:10Thank you for that.
09:11I think there is a significant lack of clarity on what the government is attempting to do.
09:15So a clarification from the government's end would be much appreciated.
09:19First and foremost, we are talking about monitoring, censoring, potentially also registering FIRs on the basis of AI-detected social media content.
09:29So there are multiple, you know, legal loopholes in terms of social media monitoring.
09:36And adding AI to anything has become the new jargon.
09:39I speak from Bengaluru where I know that AI has taken over multiple sectors and has provided significant innovation opportunities.
09:47But when it comes to policing, when it comes to governance, when it comes to matters of free speech and censorship,
09:54AI is not an end-all solution.
09:56I want to understand how are these models trained?
09:58Who is in charge of training these models?
10:00What does that 67 crore go towards?
10:02How does this ensure better policing?
10:04How do you ensure that bias, human bias is not carried through with AI?
10:08How do you ensure that the AI is not, you know, detecting?
10:11On what basis are we detecting hate speech when you don't have laws that define what hate speech is?
10:17As you would know, the recently passed hate speech, hate crime bill in Karnataka has been sent to the president for his assent and therefore review.
10:24So on what basis are you allocating the 67 crores?
10:28Where does it go?
10:29There has not been clarity on this issue.
10:31And I beg to defer that we are not against AI innovation.
10:35The government led by the Prime Minister has been very clear in the type of signalling to private sector on what AI innovation should solve for.
10:47But what we are asking for here is that where does this 67 crore for, this has nothing to do with AI related innovation.
10:55If you are using it to curtail free speech, to censor free speech, where do you stop?
11:01Where does free speech get, you know, it's a reasonable restriction from is an incredibly important facet of law that we need to discuss.
11:10You cannot have this from executive control. The government of Karnataka cannot decide what is to be said on social media or not.
11:17And let me tell you, there is already a prevailing situation of censorship and fear and harassment because Karnataka had a fake news bill that was proposed.
11:25There was an information disorder tackling unit that was proposed.
11:28There's been significant number of steps that have been taken where fear has been put forth through the government's actions that free speech is being controlled.
11:37And that information disorder tackling unit, by the way, some interesting data that a significant number of complaints against political parties,
11:44a significant number of them were FIRs filed against people who spoke up against government.
11:50So how does this not become a tool for harassment? How does this not become a tool for censorship?
11:54That is our very, very pertinent question in this discussion.
11:57Alright. Dhruv, I want to come to you. How do you respond to all these points that Surabhi is mentioning?
12:03Because people could well have the fear, what if their privacy is reached into? How do you eliminate these fears?
12:09I think it's the responsibility of the opposition party to make sure such bills are not misinterpreted.
12:15I mean, that's the whole point of bringing in such bills in the first place.
12:18Let me take you to the IT Act 2000, talking about Section 69.
12:22And this IT Act explicitly says, and you must go through this, it says that it authorizes governments to intercept, monitor, decrypt information when necessary.
12:32And it's just not the IT Act. It's even the DPDP Act 2023, which is the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023,
12:40which grants full exemptions to states to instrumentalize for the sovereignty and integrity of the state.
12:47And if you are trying to say that these acts themselves are in contradiction to, you know, the Constitution and free speech,
12:54then you must be questioning why your government themselves in 2020 and 2023 brought this in the first place.
12:59So I don't think in the first place we must be misguiding the citizens by stating that, you know, the SMAS is going to be misutilized by the government, etc.
13:09And Karnataka is not the first state to have implemented it.
13:12Let me take you to the Network Enforcement Act, which is the NETS DG, which is implemented by Germany, enacted in 2021 for the exact same use.
13:20Singapore themselves, which is the PERFORMA, which is the Protection from Online Falselyhood and Manipulation Act, they implemented it in 2019.
13:28UK, France, even the European Union, for example, through their Digital Services Act, which is the DSA,
13:33has more than over 45 plus million users who conduct risk systematic assessments under this system.
13:39And Karnataka is not the first one that's implemented it.
13:42The whole point of bringing this act, and I don't want to politicize this issue,
13:47it's primarily because it's related to a socio-economic issue on the whole.
13:51Let me remind you, we celebrate Karnataka for being the Silicon Valley of India,
13:55but at the same time, it accounts for over 25% of all cyber crimes in India, the highest nationally.
14:01And even if you look at the statistics, Karnataka police have registered close to 259 fake news cases in the last three years.
14:08But do you know how many convictions? Just six.
14:10This shows that how fake news and free speech, especially when it comes towards fake news being disseminated online,
14:17is being taken very carelessly. And that's exactly why this bill has been brought into place.
14:22And also let me remind you about the Bengaluru Rights 2020. You must have been following it.
14:26You remember what happened even in the 2016 Cauvery riots.
14:29Fake news was at the crust of the riots breaking out.
14:34And even in coastal Karnataka, 2025 alone, 74 documented instances which directly rate to social media hate content.
14:43Now tell me, shouldn't Karnataka have such an SMAS platform in order to make sure that online safety is provided for its citizens?
14:52I feel the BJP is clearly using this as an instrument to, you know, misinterpret and misguided.
14:59Right. Okay.
15:00Without even understanding the basic framework of it, you cannot come on television stating that this is in contradiction to your freedom of rights, your freedom of speech, etc.
15:09And I completely disagree with this.
15:11All right. Let me take this to my colleague Cyrus.
15:14I don't really understand, Cyrus, what your research says, because fact is that the problem is genuine on both sides.
15:19Need to tackle fake news, but not at the risk of reaching into one's privacy.
15:24How do you study into it? Is it risky? Is it not?
15:28Well, Suresha, the thing is, AI is, I mean, it's the kind of technology that's evolving.
15:33Part of me agrees with both the spokesperson. Yes, AI can be influenced.
15:38It all depends on the kind of training that you give to artificial intelligence in terms of spotting fake news, in terms of having certain narratives in itself.
15:46So it will be very important of how the AI data is trained to spot fake news.
15:53And there's a part of me which also believes that this kind of a tool is very important.
15:58It needs to be layered.
15:59We need to understand that right now, whatever sightings that are happening online, be it fake news, be it propaganda, it's being done by humans.
16:07There are humans who are spotting this online and then flagging it.
16:11If you have an efficient AI system that is put as a layer on top of it, it will be able to streamline a lot of that work and then be able to detect it, flag it sooner and then it will be easier to take it down.
16:24Now, the concerns about snooping, I strongly believe that it's not that easy.
16:29Yes, AI systems are a lot advanced these days, but even these platforms, you take Instagram, you take Facebook or any of these social media platforms have another layer of security on top to protect users and the encryption is not easy to break.
16:44So, I would not go on and say because it seems a little exaggerated to say that users' data will be compromised.
16:51I wouldn't say that.
16:52But yes, it's imperative for us to deploy any kind of an AI tool that can help us detect any kind of fake news or any kind of propaganda that's being propagated online.
17:03So, yes, while the AI can be influenced, we have to make sure that the training is in coherence with standards.
17:13Obviously, it cannot be manipulated. It should not have any biases.
17:16But we also need to understand that this kind of an AI system will evolve, will develop.
17:23So, we need to be sure that the people who are controlling the narrative on the back end need to train the AI in a more sensible way and not have biases in place because that can seriously influence what it detects and what it flags.
17:36And that could be a problem.
17:37But I strongly believe that such a system needs to be put in place.
17:41There is so much fake news that's flying on social media.
17:44And an AI system, because everything is being layered by AI these days, needs to be put in place and it needs to be made more efficient, I believe.
17:51Oh, yes, absolutely. And the purpose is hugely beneficial for as long as it is not misused for political reasons.
17:58At the moment, I want to thank you all for joining us on the broadcast and really throwing light on what is yet to come, what awaits the citizens of Karnataka.
18:07And well, in a setback to actor turned politician and TVK chief Vijay, the Madras High Court dismissed his writ petition challenging an income tax department order imposing a 1.5 crore rupees penalty for alleged non-disclosure of income in 2015-16.
18:28The case relates to additional income of 15 crore rupees that, according to the department, was not properly disclosed by the actor during the relevant financial year.
18:37The penalty was imposed following income tax searches conducted at his residence in September 2015.
18:44Vijay had approached the High Court in 2022 against the penalty order.
18:48Former Tamil Nadu Minister who has called out Vijay, saying that he is a corrupt person who does politics with black money.
18:55Vijay he has responded to the legal 너무 complacent and said that he was a corrupt person who does politics with black people in the field and even got out Vijay.
19:02He was very well with him to hear his right word.
19:05He said that he is a clover with a thanrente and has got out with his right heart.
19:08He came to help him to make the same decision as he did with his left hand and has stopped him.
19:12He told him that he is not saying that the people who don't want to go and ever listen to him.
19:17So, he told him that the people don't want to be here in a system.
19:20They need to go to your own Martial
19:27Yes, we have to say right, we have to say
19:32We allow our 삼가 Chiabas to give themCal
19:42That is the only thing I used to say when I was interviewed.
19:46When I was interviewed at the time, the first time I was interviewed at the time.
19:49I feel very comfortable.
19:51I think I have done a great job here.
19:55I was not able to understand when I was a man.
19:58I had to maintain my own attitude and I had to maintain a lot of more jeep.
20:04I felt like I was the one for a man as a man named a man named a man named Asha.
20:13Taking this to my colleague Anagha Kesav now joining us on the broadcast.
20:17Anagha, especially the timing at which this tax penalty comes for Vijay
20:20gives all the reasons to his political rivals to really take this against him,
20:26especially when it comes to the issue of corruption.
20:33That's right. In fact, in terms of timing, the optics is certainly not going down well.
20:37This was possibly the worst timing for Vijay to have a tax penalty be slapped on him.
20:43In fact, today the Madras High Court has upheld the income tax department's decision
20:48to impose the penalty of 1.5 crore rupees on Vijay over non-disclosure of income amounting to 15 crore rupees.
20:55In fact, Vijay had filed a petition in the Madras High Court challenging the income tax department
21:02on the grounds that it was in the year 2015 that Vijay was raided.
21:07But when did he get the notice?
21:08It was 7 years later in the year 2022 that he was served a notice by the income tax department.
21:14So Vijay has questioned this delay of 7 years and that's why he had demanded for a quashing of income tax department's penalty against him.
21:23But the Madras High Court says that this is not a valid enough argument to quash the penalty filed against Vijay
21:29and therefore it has upheld the income tax department's decision to impose a tax amounting to 1.5 crore rupees on actor-turn Meta Vijay.
21:39Now, since there's also elections coming in, the opposition parties, particularly the BJP and the ruling government DMK
21:45is going to pick this up as an ammunition to target Vijay who wants to become the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
21:52Anika, we'll leave it at that. Many thanks for joining us with all these details.
22:04And breaking news coming in, TTD Ghee adulteration controversy that has exploded further
22:09after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Chandrababu Naidu has alleged that Tirupati Ladoos were made using Ghee
22:15which was adulterated with chemicals used to clean bathrooms during the previous Mayasar CP government.
22:22Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has gone on to allege that the Ghee that was being supplied
22:28to Sri Salaam Temple during Mayasar CP regime was adulterated.
22:33But it is not just restricted here. He's gone on to say that the chemicals that are used to clean bathrooms
22:39is what was being put in that Ladoos. Listen up.
22:46But before that, let me take this to my colleague Apoorva to get us further details
22:51as the controversy certainly exploding Apoorva and what must go through devotees
22:57who've been offering prayers at this temple on a regular basis
23:02taking those Ladoos as a part of their devotion
23:07but to understand that these sort of chemicals who are being used in it
23:12what is the veracity in these allegations?
23:17Well in fact, Svesha, if we do see the statements that is coming in from Nandar Pradesh Chief Minister
23:22he's talking about the reports that have been released since the Ladoo adulteration claims had been made
23:28remember there was two NDDB reports that were put out
23:31not only that, there was also a CBI chart sheet that mentioned
23:34the kind of chemicals that were used and completely
23:38the level of adulteration of which the Ghee was in fact used as well
23:42not only that, there was a recent SIT report
23:4511 page SIT report that was submitted to the state government
23:48stating that the Ghee, a so-called Ghee that was used for making of the Ladoos there
23:54over the veracity of the last five years
23:57there definitely was not only adulterated
24:00but it was, you know, the purity of the Ghee was completely diluted to the maximum level
24:05that's what the report has also, you know, shown as well
24:08and that's the same thing which the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister
24:11Narachandra Babu Naidu has gone on
24:13and also addressed to the people as well
24:15earlier on in September of 2024, he had made the shocking revelations of the NDDB report
24:20in which they had talked about the adulteration of Ghee that was taking place
24:25and today yet again, the Chief Minister reiterating that not only the reports that are there
24:30for serving as testimonial to the level of adulteration of Ghee
24:33but more importantly, they also have the YSRCP's former leader
24:38who was also the TTD's former board member there
24:41and chairman, former TTD chairman who has himself gone on record
24:45accepting that there was adulteration of Ghee
24:48and is this the right kind of precedence that the YSRCP is setting for governance here
24:54is what the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has gone on in question
24:56remember this comes at a time when the Ghee adulteration, you know, scam has been escalating day after day
25:03and with both the YSRCP and TDP at locker heads with each other
25:08the Chief Minister now shuts down all rumours there
25:11stating that the reports themselves speak
25:14and that these reports are indeed the proof of the pudding
25:17in which the Ghee that was used in making of the Ladoos
25:21Ladoos which devotees from near and far, from all across the world
25:25come to have a darshan of Lord Venkateshwara, the Thirmala Thirupati Devastanams
25:28and take back home these Ladoos, they were indeed, you know, used and made
25:33with almost over, you know, highly adulterated concentration of Ghee that was used
25:38Shocking as the least to say, Apoorva
25:40and the very fact that these allegations have been coming in
25:43the controversy getting bigger
25:44and there must be transparency on what exactly were happening
25:48while part of making those Ladoos
25:50I want to thank you for getting us all the latest details
25:52And that's all that we can pack for you in this edition of Super 6
25:58Thank you for watching India today
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