- Why in news
- On March 20, 2026, ECI ordered parties and candidates to get all political ads, including on social media, pre-certified by the MCMC for the Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal assembly polls. Candidates must also declare authentic social media accounts in their nomination affidavit.
- What it is
- The Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) is a body set up by the Election Commission at district and state level during elections. It certifies political advertisements before publication and watches for paid news. It is an administrative mechanism of the ECI for election-time media oversight, not a permanent statutory body.
- Two levels
- Candidates apply to the District MCMC. Parties headquartered in a State/UT apply to the State Level MCMC.
- Appeals
- An Appellate Committee headed by the CEO hears appeals against District/State MCMC decisions.
- Scope of certification
- Pre-certification covers electronic media and internet media including social media; no political ad may go to internet media without it.
- Paid news
- MCMCs keep vigil on suspected paid news and take suitable action.
- Social media spending
- Parties must report campaign expenditure on the internet, including social media, to ECI within 75 days of the end of the assembly elections, under Section 77(1) of the RP Act, 1951 and Supreme Court directions.
- Account disclosure
- Candidates must give details of their authentic social media accounts in the nomination affidavit.
Don’t confuse with MCMC vs Model Code of Conduct: The MCMC is a body that certifies ads and checks paid news. The Model Code of Conduct is the set of guidelines for parties and candidates that these checks help enforce.
Don’t confuse with Pre-certification vs expenditure statement: Pre-certification is done before an ad is published. The expenditure statement is filed with ECI after the election, within 75 days.
Laws, judgments and statutory bodies: 30 Prelims questions since 2013 (what the law says, who chairs, legal basis). In Mains, 44 news-triggered questions, most in GS2, asking for provisions and challenges.
Why it matters
- Brings social media campaigning under the same checks as TV and radio, helping a level playing field.
- Links ad certification and expense reporting, which supports transparency in election spending.
Problems
- Volume and speed of online content make pre-certification and monitoring hard to enforce.
- Detecting paid news and fake accounts, and balancing checks with free speech, is difficult.
Way forward
- Strengthen coordination with social media platforms for quick action on misinformation and unauthorised ads.
- Train district-level committees and use technology tools for monitoring, with clear and transparent appeal procedures.
Put in your answer
Section 77(1), RP Act 1951: Requires accounts of election expenditure, and the release applies it to internet campaign spending reporting within 75 days.
Outreach to platforms: ECI met CEOs, police and IT nodal officers and social media platforms on March 19, 2026 to act on misinformation and fake news.
- 2022Mains GS2 · Q15Role of Election Commission in evolution of Model Code of Conduct
- 2026Mains GS3 · Q9Fake news threat to internal security; IT Rules 2021 amendments
- 2019Mains ESSAY · Q7Essay on whether biased media threatens Indian democracy
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Pre-certification of political ads is an election-regulation topic; an election-rule fact, though routine each election.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.