Baghdad: Kirkuk Operations Commander Major General Maad Baday on Wednesday directed the adoption of strict legal measures against social media pages that engage in incitement, spread false information and offensive content.

According to Iraqi News Agency, Kirkuk's Security Media Cell stated that it held its first meeting with the participation of media officials from the province's security, military, and civilian institutions. During the meeting, several decisions were made, most notably the monitoring of pages that engage in incitement, abuse, and the dissemination of extremist ideas.

The statement added that the operations commander directed competent security agencies to monitor certain social media pages that promote misleading information, disrupt the efforts of the security forces, insult the security forces and state institutions, distort the facts and history of Kirkuk province, and suggest that the province is unstable. It was emphasized that legal measures would be taken against some of those pages and those responsible for them.

The statement noted that the province's Security Media Cell supports the work of journalists and media institutions officially registered with the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate by facilitating the performance of their duties, conveying purposeful information, and highlighting the positive image of the province. This is intended to contribute to consolidating the foundations of peace and coexistence while supporting the efforts of the security forces and state institutions.

It was further mentioned that the cell would coordinate with the Shi'ite and Sunni Endowment Diwans, as well as the endowments of other religions, to encourage religious leaders to contribute to combating extremist ideas and promoting a discourse of moderation.