Introduction - Fake news, deliberately fabricated or distorted information masquerading as legitimate journalism, poses a profound threat to democracy in the digital age. Unlike mere errors or biased reporting, it thrives on deception—sensational headlines, manipulated images, and viral falsehoods designed to inflame emotions and manipulate perceptions. As social media platforms like WhatsApp and X amplify its reach to billions, fake news erodes the foundational pillars of democratic governance: an informed electorate, free discourse, and accountable institutions.Virat Kohli deactivates his Instagram account by self or via platform for a brief span of 26 hours and it becomes national news being covered by the most popular news channels of the country. Speculations surround his retirement, his relations with BCCI, his relations with his wife and everything that could possibly go wrong with him. A petty, irrelevant, unimportant and non-life risking information as such invited a million tweets, responses, reshares and mentions. This is how a basic fake and illogical information impacts lives of the population. Fake news refers to deliberately fabricated or misleading information presented as legitimate news, often spread to deceive audiences for political, financial, or ideological gain.