In a controversial move which could have far reaching implications in an election year, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on Monday came up with a few stringent measures to deal with the menace of fake news. A press release issued on Monday by the ministry said the accreditation of a journalist could be permanently cancelled if the scribe is found generating or propagating false news.
The move, as expected, drew huge flak from journalist community and activists who termed it another attempt of the Bharatiya Janata Party government to mussel the media. “Make no mistake: this is a breathtaking assault on mainstream media. It’s a moment like Rajiv Gandhi’s anti-defamation bill. All media should bury their differences and resist this,” tweeted senior journalist Shekhar Gupta.
As protests gathered steam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervened and scrapped the controversial order, that too, in less than 24 hours.
The media fraternity might have reason to dissent as they felt the new rules were prone to be misused in a country where free speech is guaranteed by the Constitution. The government release had said: "Any complaint of instances of fake news would be referred to the Press Council of India (PCI), if it pertains to print media, and to the News Broadcasters Association (NBA), if it relates to the electronic media, for determination of the news item being fake or not. This determination is expected to be completed within 15 days by these agencies." Many felt that the chances were high for motivated complaints to be filed with an intention to suspend accreditation of a particular journalist until the enquiry is on.
The idea that the government can decide what constitutes #FakeNews & suspend the journalist for 15days is deeply disturbing . This is the biggest attack on the freedom of press ! #FakeNews
— Tehseen Poonawalla (@tehseenp) April 3, 2018
Ever since the Modi government came to power in the Centre, allegations of harassing journalists and media houses have skyrocketed with the latest of them being the case between BJP chief Amit Shah's son and The Wire. Shah's son, Jay Shah, has filed a defamation suit against the news portal which had reported a “dramatic increase” in some of the businesses of the former since the saffron party came to power.
The criminal case filed against The Tribune reporter Rachna Khaira in connection with a story on the breach of details of over one billion Aadhaar cards was touted to be a classic example of media pressurising by the present regime. Khaira was booked by Delhi police under charges which would attract 30 years in jail.
Neha Dixit, a freelance journalist, who reported about the alleged child trafficking in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological mentor of the BJP, was charged in a criminal complaint with promoting disharmony among different religious groups. She and her husband were subjected to online bullying for several weeks.
A report in The Washington Post in February this year claimed that the exit of Bobby Ghosh, an American citizen, from a national daily was the result of the Modi government's intervention. Ghosh had launched an online portal to monitor the hate crimes in the country only to infuriate those in the power.
In the wake of these, the new guidelines were seen by many as an attempt to prevent genuine journalists from reporting news uncomfortable to the establishment. BJP's political opponents also feel the latest move is another step closer to the violation of freedom of the press which India experienced during the Emergency in the 1970s.
Many wonder whether the government would adopt the same pugnacious approach towards the right wing IT cells which propagate hatred by spreading fake news. Last week, the founder of an online portal was arrested in Congress-ruled Karnataka for falsely reporting that a Jain monk was attacked by members from a minority community.
How about the fake news that gets generated from BJP’s IT Cell cum Fake news Factory? Let’s not forget that RSS is the 1st producer of Fake News in this country. Shouldn’t there be a clampdown on the Originators of Fake News? #SmritiIrani #FakeNews
— Sadhavi Khosla (@sadhavi) April 3, 2018
In 2017, India fell three spots on the World Press Freedom Index to 136, below Afghanistan and Myanmar. Over the last few years, there have been instances of reports against government or its policies going missing from websites within a day or two of publishing, raising serious doubts of media bullying by the government.
On Tuesday, Union minister Smriti Irani sought to elaborate on the new guidelines saying it is the PCI and the NBA, both of which are not controlled by the government, which will ascertain whether a news is fake or not. However, her promises were far from consoling.