What is Fake News?
The Prime Minister reversed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s ill-advised move to place curbs on journalists. The now impugned guidelines stipulated
immediate suspension of access rights to accredited journalists accused of
propagating ‘fake news’ and a permanent ban for repeat offences.
“Fake news” is a phenomenon that strikes at the very heart and
credibility of what constitutes journalism. The motive behind much of the so-called “fake” news is to organise
opinion that benefits partisan and party interests.
Different democratic institutions, the judiciary and the legislature for
instance, have assigned roles that are often perceived to be in conflict with
each other. Even the media is
designed in the larger public interest. Journalists filter information with the
purpose of not just informing and educating the public but also in order to add
to the existing knowledge about what is good for public. To assume guilt and decide on punitive
measures without due consideration is
not right.
It is important to make a distinction between inaccurate news and “fake
news” which has been created and disseminated with malicious intent. This
requires a deeper understanding of not only the phenomenon of “fake news” but
of the dynamics of social media and the Internet. Revoking a poor order was a
good first step.
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