Every day we read and hear the term “fake news”. This term is used to refer to the fabricated news in which the information is false but it seems true. This term is taking us back to the age of Yellow journalism. There can be understood under different categories where disinformation means falsehoods and rumors knowingly distributed[1]:
To undermine national security: In this category, fake news is used for organized misinformation campaigns with the aim of states through the insurrection of society.
To achieve viral status without political aim: This category has a wide ambit as it ranges from the malicious to the ignorant and misinformed. It affects the public order and safety.
To be propagated as a part of a political agenda based on ideological bias: This category tries to shape national opinion. It affects the pliability of a polity by actors in a state without external malign actor involved. This can be seen mostly during the times of elections. It has become a part of a political agenda to influence the voters. Presidential Elections if U.S.A in the year 2016 can be an example when after Mr. Donald Trumpbegan discussing this word and the news channels started flashing the photoshopped images as well as WhatsApp forwards.
For financial gain: This category includes advertising fake stories for manipulating markets.
Fo be used in satire or seemingly humorous pieces for entertainment purposes: Fake stories are created in this category for entertainment. In the world of social media, this category is now being used for getting popularity.
Fo spread communal hatred: This category is emerging as this was not a part of the other categories initially. In this category, misinformation is being spread to create communal disharmony. In India, this category is taking place, by different platforms.
The easy access to misinformation is shaping the views of the people in any country.It creates beliefs on the false grounds which leads to exacerbating any situation peaceful otherwise.Fake News is a threat everywhere but in a country like India, it works like a deadly weapon.
There is no certain meaning of Fake News in the Indian context and several definitions are given by some fake news slayers. In 2018, the Press Council of India took the responsibility and quoted fake news as “Fake News means news, story, information, data, and reports which is or are wholly or partially false.”
The concept of fake news was there since the age of the printing press but in this era of internet and digital platforms, it gained recognition. There are around 35 crore active internet users in India and rumors, unverified and planted stories, edited images reach the users very easily, and create distress.
Misinformation and Disinformation have become a serious challenge in the country and is leading to an obnoxious environment resulting in lynching and riots. The recent case of lynching of two sadhus and their driver in Maharashtra’s Palghar area this month proves that rumors, false information, and fake news are increasing the level of uncertainty and can take lives.
Popular Social Media platforms like WhatsApp, Twitter, Tiktok, Instagram, and Facebook are considered to be the sole contributors for spreading disinformation. Among these platforms, WhatsApp has emerged as the most vulnerable to fake news. It is being considered as the key platform to spread misinformation these days because of the easy access and the number of active users (around 200 million) higher than any other platform. The main problem is that there is no authentic way to cross-check any easily available information.
FAKE NEWS: EXCERBATING THE CURRENT SITUATION
The wave of fake news in the country is traveling very fast in this time of disaster. The public is being forced to stay at home to fight against the battle increased usage of online platforms for gathering information about the current situation. Hence, during the lockdown, there has been a remarkable increase in the circulation of fake news through various media platforms.
There has been much news being circulated about the health guidelines on different social media platforms in the name of WHO and the Ministry of Health Affairs. For an instance, the was a WhatsApp message on WHO lockdown protocol for COVID-19 in India on which WHO provided information saying WHO would like to clarify that a FAKE message is being circulated on social media stating that it has releaseda four-step protocol and procedure for lockdown in India. WHO has NOT issued any such advisory andprotocols.[2]
Another instance is about home remedies, which can cure coronavirus being widely shared. For example, Heat can kill the virus, the use of turmeric water, etc. These remedies are beneficial for building immunity but is not a cure for COVID19.
In the response of such circulation of fake news, BPRD, a think tank of the Union Home Ministry, came up with a 40-page guide Fake News & Disinformation: A Guide for LEAs – How to spot and investigate,for law enforcement agencies as a source of fake news spotting and fact-checking.[3]
According to a recent report by the fact-checking website BOOM, COVID-19 related fake news which began climbing in the third week of March took a massive spike in early April.[4]
India is not the only country which has become the victim of fake news, the world is also struggling with the torrent of disinformation. For instance, in January, a doctored video surfaced about how China is bombing its citizens in Wuhan. This was followed by a flurry of videos of people prescribing miracle cures, some faking infections, and using hot water and alcohol to prevent developing immunity to the virus.[5]
Due to the lockdown, there has been a decrease in human activities, which resulted in improvement in the environment condition. There has been much news worldwide about the improvement but how much of the news is true?
Some news got viral on Instagram and TikTok. They made news headlines like swans returning to the deserted Venetian canals. But the swans in the viral posts regularly appear in the canals of Burano, a small island in the greater Venice metropolitan area, where the photos were taken.
It was also circulated Dolphins had also returned but the Venetiandolphins were filmed at a port in Sardinia, in the Mediterranean Sea, hundreds of miles away.
Another news said that a group of elephants had sauntered through a village in Yunnan, China, gotten drunk off corn wine and passed out in a tea garden. But it wasn’t real.No one has figured out where the drunken elephant photos came from, but a Chinese news report debunked the viral posts- While elephants did recently come through a village in Yunnan Province, China, their presence isn’t out of the norm, they aren’t the elephants in the viral photos, and they didn’t get drunk and pass out in a tea field.[6]
According to a study by the Vaccine Confidence Project (VCP), more than 240 million digital and social media messages globally on COVID-19 by mid-March, at an average of 3.08 million daily messages. A vast majority of these messages were found to be false or very misleading in their intent.[7]The menace was such the World Health Organization has named the situation as “infodemic” and urged the public to believe in scientific and credible information
LAWS: HELPING TO CURB FAKE NEWS
There no specific statute against fake law in India but some laws regulate fake news.
- Constitution of India:
The Constitution of India under Article 19provides freedom of speech and expression and Article 14 of the Constitution provides “equality of law” and “equal protection of the law”. Therefore, a combined reading of the two articles the freedom given under Article 19(1)(a) should be equally available to every citizen. Media is considered as the fourth pillar of Democracy and it has freedom of speech and expression. All forms of media including electronic media, print media, and social media have the same rights under Article 19(1)(a) but article 19(2) provides reasonable restrictions to the rights of media and press, which helps in restraining fake news.
- Indian Penal Code:
Section 505(1) of I.P.C., which talks about publishing, making, or circulating any statement or rumor, which may cause alarm or fear to the public order may be induced to commit an offense.
Section 153(A) and 153 of I.P.C. can cover the crime of fake news, on social media or any other medium publishing provocative speeches, objectionable writings that would promote enmity between groups on certain grounds and provoke anyone with intent to cause a riot.
It also provides remedies for negligent/malignant acts of spreading the infection to dangerous diseases which causes hurt or endanger life or personal safety of others under section 269, 270, 336 by spreading false information to coronavirus can be invoked against the offenders.
Also, this epidemic has been declared a disaster by the Government of India, and notification has been issued by executive orders, spreading any false information about COVID-19 attracts the offense under section 188 of Indian Penal code.
Various other sections of I.P.C. like Section 124A, 499, 188 can be interpreted to hold the offender for spreading fake news but there is no specific section under the code to directly deal with fake news.
- Information Technology, 2000:
Section 66D of the act which says “Whoever, by means for any communication device or computer resource cheats (as mentioned in section 43 of the act) by personating shall be punished with the imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to one lakh rupees.” can be used to take action against fake news.
- Disaster Management Act, 2005:
Section 54 of the act is applied during the time of disaster which says that spreading rumors to create a panic or false alarm about the severity or magnitude of the disaster is also a cognizable offense. This section is very useful in the current situation of the epidemic as it has been considered as a disaster by the Government.
A combined reading of Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act and Section 505(1)(b) of the Indian Penal Code in the current situation can directly help to deter fake news in the present situation.
Apart from these statutes, Press Council of India, a regulatory body, can warn, admonish or censure the newspaper, the news agency, the editor or the journalist or disapprove the conduct of the editor or the journalist if it finds that a newspaper or a news agency has violated journalistic ethics.
News Broadcasters Association (NBA), Indian Broadcast Foundation (IBF), and Broadcasting Content Complaint Council (BCCC) also look after objectionable content and fake news on televisions and electronic media.
The laws mentioned above are insufficient to curb the harm that is done by the rumors and false information to the public order. This is also because these provisions were introduced at the time when the scope of causing disinformation digitally was limited.
LEGISLATION: AN EXIGENCY
Having specific legislation to regulate against fake news isthe need of the hour to act fast to limit the spread of false information. India does not have any specific law to deal with the threat whereas other countries have already taken strides in preventing the spread of false information through legislations.
In 2019, a bill named The Fake News (Prohibition) Bill, 2019 was introduced in the Lok Sabha. It gives a definite definition of what will fall under the term “fake news”. It broadly says that creating or printing, aiding, and abetting in the creation or circulation, deliberately disseminating fake news by any mass media outlet regardless of intent is prohibited under the act. However, this bill needs some changes to deal with situations like the current epidemic but this is an effort by the Parliament to curb fake news by providing measures to monitor the distribution of fake news.
Fake news is created sometimes for political gains or economic gains and its control is necessary. However, controlling fake news is a little difficult task as controlling too much of it can harm democracy. The task to counter the misinformation on media platforms without undermining the internet and freedom of media will require a lot of sincere efforts. The way of highlighting national and global concerns should not be made difficult by the misinformation which causes unwanted chaos and panic.There is also a need to educate citizens to be more alert and responsible while sharing or forwarding any news on mass media platforms. A nation can become factually alert and safe only when it will be free from the threat of fake news.
By –
Kanishka Sihare
DNLU, Jabalpur
[1]Vasu, Norman, et al. Unpacking Fake News. S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, 2018, pp. 5–9, FAKE NEWS: NATIONAL SECURITY IN THE POST-TRUTH ERA, www.jstor.org/stable/resrep17648.5. Accessed 11 May 2020.
[2]https://www.who.int/india/emergencies/coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)/fake-news-alert
[3]https://www.thequint.com/news/india/mha-think-tank-bprd-removes-online-manual-on-sources-for-spotting-fake-news
[4]https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/how-fake-news-complicating-india-war-against-covid19-66052/
[5]https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/how-fake-news-complicating-india-war-against-covid19-66052/
[6]https://api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/animals/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-fake-animal-viral-social-media-posts
[7]https://www.livemint.com/news/india/covid-19-misinformation-curve-shows-no-signs-of-flattening-11587888207849.html
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