ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Monday warned that strict action would be taken against individuals found participating in social media trends targeting the country and state institutions. Addressing a news conference, Chaudhry alleged that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has long been conducting a specific type of propaganda through social media. Individuals participating in online trends against the country would face legal action, he said, adding that many social media accounts are making trends for the PTI and these accounts are operating from foreign countries. The Minister said “the government believes in the freedom of expression, but it should also be clear that there will be no compromise on national security.” He also played videos revealing how social media accounts operate. He claimed that social media was being misused for political propaganda and activities against the country. Chaudhry claimed that payments were being made for every message, tweet, and trend on social media platforms. He said the evidence he was presenting was not official government material but data provided by social media platforms themselves. According to him, most of the social media accounts involved were being operated from outside Pakistan and were created using fake names. He alleged that these accounts were not genuine and were being run by foreign-based companies. Chaudhry further claimed that the accounts involved in these campaigns had already been traced and that state institutions were also reporting fake accounts to social media platforms. He said Pakistan had been fighting terrorism for a long time and that the country’s institutions were on the front line in this fight. He alleged that fake social media accounts were being used to support banned militant organizations, including the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He reiterated that misuse of social media for anti-state activities would not be tolerated and emphasized the need for responsible use of digital platforms. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025