Overview

• Congress on Sunday alleged its bulk-SMS plan to share a documentary on alleged Maharashtra election fraud was rejected as “protest content” and posted a screenshot.
• On Monday, TRAI issued a public fact-check saying it never received such an application and does not approve individual SMS templates.
• TRAI and government sources said the rejection shown in the screenshot came from service provider STPL, not the regulator or the Election Commission.
• Coverage explains that bulk SMS templates are vetted and whitelisted by telecom operators and their approved systems under the 2018 anti-spam framework.
• The SMS was to include a link to a 35-minute film by journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, as Opposition leaders renewed ‘vote chori’ claims that the Election Commission has dismissed.