Counter EVM-deniers with facts & tut-tuts

Enough has been written about the tech and usage of EVMs to safely say that these voting machines used in India - self-contained units with verifiable systems - are tamper-proof. Yet, as we keep noting, conspiracy theorists continue to have their moments in the sun. One such person by the name of Syed Shuja claimed in a media sting operation that he was able to hack EVMs, allegedly demanding ₹54 cr for his services. Instead of dealing with such crackpot claims with facts and empirical evidence or lack thereof, Mumbai Cyber Police filed an FIR against Shuja for making 'false, baseless, and unsubstantiated claims'. The police action, following a complaint by the Maharashtra chief electoral officer, brought Shuja his 15 minutes of fame. EC would have been better served by reiterating how baseless his claims were, and leaving it at that.

Whether driven by genuine concern, ignorance, political motive or even mala fide intent, cracking down on individuals for making such claims is overkill, and counterproductive. For one, you don't file a case against a person claiming that the government is, say, taking orders from aliens. You simply present the lack of any real evidence that contact with extraterrestrials has been made. More seriously, filing an FIR against someone bad-mouthing EVMs runs the risk of nonsense being conflated with any kind of critique against government or government authorities, even legitimate ones. That's 'tinpot-ism'.

Addressing misinformation about EVMs is important. Slapping cases against misinformants merely makes the misinformation seem credible enough for it to bring about retribution. EVM-hacking, like UFO-sighting, should deserve chiding, and facts to bury such conspiracies. Nothing less, but certainly nothing more.