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Assam recorded the highest cases of fake news in 2017, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reported.

The NCRB data, which was released recently after a gap of two years, reported that Assam reported 56 cases of fake news in 2017.

โ€œOut 170 fakes news reported across India, 56 cases were reported from Assam,โ€ the NCRB report stated.

Adding further, the report said, โ€œAt least 246 cases of cybercrime for personal revenge were registered in Assam in 2017.โ€

โ€œAssam recorded 56 cases of fake news on social media in 2017. Uttar Pradesh (21) and Madhya Pradesh (17) came second and third respectively,โ€ the report added.

โ€œNo other states from the northeast recorded a single similar case of fake news in 2017,โ€ the report added.

โ€œMoreover, 217 cases of cybercrime with sexual exploitation motive, 70 blackmailing and threatening cases, 44 cases related to terror acts and 10 cases with a political motive were reported in Assam in 2017,โ€ the report said.

In Assam, the NCRB said, 1120 cases of cybercrimes were recorded in 2017- the second highest in the country with Uttar Pradesh (4971) topping the chart.

The number of cybercrime cases recorded in 2016 was 696 and the number was 483 in 2015.