NEW DELHI -- As the southern Indian state of Karnataka gears up for elections on May 12, a series of false stories about politicians has emerged in local media.
In late April, a report named a list of politicians who would campaign for the state's ruling Congress Party. A few days later, a right-wing website and some regional media reported that officials of the state's income tax department had raided the home of a local minister. The next day, a report that claimed to forecast the election result on the basis of a secret survey by the state's intelligence agency appeared on social media.
