June 08, 2023

Who Spreads Such Fake Videos?

By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2023-03-07 14:54:35

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The latest episode of a doctored video being spread over social media and messaging apps in Tamil Nadu to scare migrant labour into believing that they are being physically targeted is deplorable and needs to be condemned by all right thinking people. It is obvious that such videos are circulated from time to time to disturb the harmony that exists on the ground. Migrant workers are vital to the industrial units in Tamil Nadu, as they are to all such units all over India. The entire country knows that migrant workers do not take away jobs of native workers. Instead, they leave their homes and go to distant states only because they are needed there. Since there are no native workers to do the work or they do not take it up due to various reasons, contractors bring workers from Bihar, UP, Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand. They contribute in all industries in Tamil Nadu, be it the textile hub in Tiruppur, the automobile hub near Chennai, the machinery hub in Coimbatore or the construction sector all over the state.

There are more than 10 lakh migrant workers in the state. Now, industrial units in the state are worried that these migrant workers, who usually go back to their states to celebrate Holi with their families, might not return. But both the DMK government in Tamil Nadu and the Bihar government took timely and excellent steps to alleviate the fears of the migrants. The entire administration in Tamil Nadu, including Chief Minister M K Stalin, reassured the workers that no one will be able to harm them and that they are like brothers to the Tamils. 

The Tamil Nadu government must discover where the video originated from. It must find out who is behind spreading such fake news. The police have booked state BJP president K Annamalai for posting allegedly inflammatory tweets that could have exacerbated the situation. It is now upon all concerned to refrain from playing into the hands of those who spread such fake news by politicizing the issue. They must help in bringing the situation under control so that migrant workers return and the state's economy does not suffer.