LPU Wake-Up Call: Regulate Social Media to Check Deepfakes and Misinformation

Peace has returned to Lovely Professional University (LPU), a day after the campus was rocked by violence following claims that an outsider had raped a female student on the university premises. The LPU authorities declared a 10-day holiday and postponed the scheduled examinations. Many students have left for their homes.

But the incident has now become a major issue in a political blame game ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections early next year. Former Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu accused Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of sending miscreants to LPU ahead of the September 30 rally in Jalandhar. He alleged that the AAP was trying to shut down LPU after its founder-chancellor, Ashok Mittal, left the party and joined the BJP. The BJP said this was the price Mittal had to pay for quitting the AAP.

Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal General Secretary Bikram Singh Majithia alleged that LPU students were being used as “pawns for revenge” amid the recent agitation at the university and called for a central probe into the incident. He alleged that after Mittal joined the BJP, people from Delhi were brought in to provoke the agitation. The SAD leader further alleged that protesters were seen using walkie-talkies and carrying bats and swords.

It may be mentioned that the LPU incident is the second major protest at a prominent university in the past week after unverified claims circulated on social media. The first university where protests broke out was Chitkara University near Rajpura on Friday night.

The SAD alleged that the police had even released some YouTubers and provocative elements who had earlier been arrested. Majithia demanded that the government explain who had ordered their release. Such incidents, he added, could have wider implications by damaging the investment climate, and he demanded a central probe.

What is significant is that there is still no clarity on whether the alleged rape actually took place on the campus or whether it was a rumour.

DGP Gaurav Yadav visited LPU to take stock of the situation and said that vandals would face action and that no one would be allowed to take the law into their own hands. However, he did not clarify whether the violence followed the alleged incident of rape or whether it was triggered by a rumour.

Yadav told the media that the police had made efforts to get the students’ grievances against the private university administration resolved by facilitating discussions with the authorities. Earlier, the university had released a video of some girls denying the allegation of rape. This was followed by a video statement from the Vice-Chancellor, who also denied that any such incident had taken place on the campus. Later, there were reports that the girls had taken a U-turn and claimed that they had been forced to say that all was well at the university.

Referring to the students’ claims about the alleged rape, the DGP said an FIR had been registered and an SIT had been formed to carry out a detailed investigation. The university, however, has described the claims of a crime taking place on the campus as “rumours”.

Hence, the mystery remains as to what exactly triggered the violence. The incident also brings to the fore the need for stricter rules to regulate social media. The influence of social-media influencers and YouTubers is growing rapidly, and if the Union Government does not take measures to regulate the circulation of such content, false claims, manipulated videos, misleading posts and deepfakes can wreak havoc when they reach millions of people within a short time.

Social media cannot be allowed to become a lawless space simply because it is digital. A sensible regulatory framework is therefore essential.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gowri V

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A Journey of Three Decades Time passes faster than we realise. What feels like a journey that began only yesterday has today grown into more than three decades of a meaningful and fulfilling life devoted to education, journalism, and the empowerment of young minds. My professional journey began with journalism training in New Delhi in 1979. I went on to work as an independent journalist, drawing on my fluency in both English and Telugu. Over the years, I have edited and worked on Telugu articles in both languages, an experience that strengthened my command of language and sharpened my understanding of society, people, and contemporary issues. Yet, my principal profession and enduring passion have always been teaching. My decision to become a teacher was not merely a career choice—it was a calling. Teaching offered me the rare privilege of inspiring young minds, guiding them through their formative years, and making a lasting difference in their lives. I found immense satisfaction in simplifying complex concepts, nurturing curiosity, encouraging independent thought, and building confidence among students. Every moment in the classroom—every question, every moment of discovery, and every spark of understanding—reminded me why I had chosen this path: to empower young people through knowledge, values, and essential life skills. My teaching career began at the grassroots level as a Montessori teacher and gradually progressed to the position of Vice Principal. I had the opportunity to work in reputed educational institutions, including Dilsukhnagar Public School in Hyderabad, where I shouldered both teaching and administrative responsibilities. Although I have always considered myself, at heart, a teacher, my administrative experience enabled me to understand and contribute to the education system from a much broader perspective. For my students, I have always tried to be an approachable and dependable presence—someone they could turn to not only for academic support, but also for guidance and emotional encouragement. At the same time, I developed a reputation as a firm disciplinarian who believed that integrity, fairness, responsibility, and discipline were fundamental to education. I was also consistently appreciated for maintaining clear communication with parents and staff and for ensuring that examinations and other academic processes were conducted with transparency, fairness, and efficiency. As my career progressed, however, I began to feel that academic education alone was not enough. This realization led me to work more closely with students following the SSC and CBSE curricula, while consciously bringing life-skills education into my teaching. I came to understand that education becomes truly meaningful when it prepares children not merely to pass examinations, but to face life. Teaching emotional resilience, self-reliance, social awareness, communication, decision-making, and other practical life skills often had a deeper and more lasting impact than academic achievement alone. I saw how these skills could help students navigate challenges with greater confidence, maturity, and responsibility. My academic background provided a strong foundation for this approach. My degree in Psychology from the University of Madras helped me develop a deeper understanding of young people's minds, their emotional needs, and the influence of their family and social environments. My M.A. in Telugu with First Class from Osmania University.

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