Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L Murugan has said that the Government is committed to take all possible actions to control the spread of fake and misleading information which has potential to weaken the democracy and create fissures in the society.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today, Dr Murugan said, in this regard, the Government has statutory and institutional mechanisms in place to address fake news on various media platforms. He said, a Fact Check Unit has been set up under Press Information Bureau in Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in November 2019 to counter fake news relating to the Central Government. The Minister said, after verifying the authenticity of news from authorised sources in Ministries and Departments, Fact Check Unit posts correct information on its social media platforms.
He said, for Print Media, the newspapers have to adhere to Norms of Journalistic Conduct brought out by the Press Council of India which restrains publication of fake or defamatory or misleading news. Dr Murugan said, the Council holds inquiry into alleged violations of Norms and may warn, admonish or censure the newspaper, editors, journalists, etc.
He said, content on TV channels is required to adhere to the Programme Code under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 which provides that no content which contains anything obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half-truths is broadcasted on private satellite TV channels. The Minister said, Cable Television Network (Amendment) Rules 2021 provides for a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism to look into the complaints relating to the violation of the Code by the TV channels.
With regard to Digital news publishers, Dr Murugan said, the Government has notified the IT Rules 2021 under the Information Technology Act. These Rules provide for a code of ethics for the publishers of news and current affairs on digital media which requires adherence to the Norms of Journalistic Conduct brought out by PCI and the Programme Code under Cable Television Network Regulation Act, 1995.
