An Indian magistrate has ruled that any information that is factually incorrect or misleading that is posted on Whatsapp and Facebook could result in a report by the police against the group administrator.

The new order, which were set out in a joint order by District Magistrate Yogeshwar Ram Mishra and Senior Superintendent of Police Nitin Tiwari is aimed at curbing the spread of fake news.

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It further stipulates that group administrators must remove members responsible for offending posts from a group. If any administrator fails to do so, action will be taken against them, the officials said.

Administrators have also been warned not to allow statements that hurt religious people to be posted on such groups.

The move is expected to affect more than 200 million people who are registered on WhatsApp in India.