MUMBAI: One of India’s largest mobile handset brands, Lava International, today announced the launch of its Republic Day campaign- #SendItBack. The hard-hitting campaign video highlights the ongoing menace of fake forwarded messages that create panic and fuel acts of violence. It urges all mobile phone users in the country to pause think and send the ‘Back’ emoji to verify the authenticity of a forwarded message before sharing it with the others.

The campaign is aimed at prompting a behaviour change in people by urging them to use social media more judicially. Conceptualised and executed by 82.5 Communications, the campaign has been rolled out across various digital platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The #SendItBack initiative encapsulates the core emotion of the brand, i.e, #ProudlyIndian.

Speaking about this special initiative, LAVA marketing and S&D strategy head Mugdh Rajit said, “The menace of fake news is growing by leaps and bounds. The fact that India has the world’s second-largest number of mobile phone users makes it very important for us to curb the fake rumours from spreading. LAVA is a Proudly Indian brand and we believe that it is our responsibility to contribute to society. With #SendItBack initiative we intend to spark-off a movement against fake forwards so that social media does not become a tool for the perpetrators of the violence. We envision this moment to go beyond the boundaries of the brand, wherein the audience is fighting this social issue in unison.”

82.5 Communications chairman and CCO Sumanto Chattopadhyay added, “India is at the heart of the 82.5 DNA - so we're grateful to LAVA for the opportunity to create communication that benefits the nation."

Commenting about the launch, 82.5 Communications president north Chandana Agarwal said, “Lava has been running the Proudly Indian Campaign for a year and a half and it always picks up messages that are relevant and makes one rethink patriotism. We are very excited about the message this year, with a handset in every hand, it is the responsibility of every Indian to fight fake news. This campaign is an important step towards making people aware of this duty.”

82.5 Communications executive creative director and creative head Mayur Varma added, “It’s so simple to forward fake news. It should be as simple to question it. So next time you are not sure about a message you’ve received, don’t forward it. Just 'backward' it.”