PIB Fact Check Unit notified under IT Rules 2021

Source-This post on Fact Check Unit is based on the article “Government notifies PIB’s  Fact Check Unit under IT Rules 2021” published in “PIB” on 20th March 2024.

Why in the News?

Recently, the Centre has notified the fact check unit under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) as the authorised fact check unit for the Union government. It has been notified under the recently amended Information and Technology Rules of 2021.

About Fact Check Unit (FCU)

1. The Fact Check Unit was established under PIB in November 2019.

2. Objective: Its objective is of acting as a deterrent to creators and disseminators of fake news and misinformation. It also provides people with an easy avenue to report suspicious and questionable information pertaining to the Government of India.

3. Mandate: The FCU is mandated to counter misinformation on Government policies, initiatives and schemes either suo motu or under a reference via complaints.

The FCU actively monitors, detects, and counters disinformation campaigns, ensuring that false information about the Government is promptly exposed and corrected.

4. The PIB fact-check unit categorises any information received by it into three categories, namely fake, misleading, and true.

a) If a piece of information is completely false and can “deceive or manipulate the audience, with or without the intention to cause potential harm”, it is classified as ‘fake news’.

b) If a content uploaded has “selective presentation of facts or figures or with distortion of facts or figures” and can mislead or deceive readers, it is classified as ‘misleading’ by the fact-check unit.

c) Content that the fact-check unit finds factual after review is classified as ‘true’.

5. Inclusive measures: The PIB Fact Check Unit has made efforts to make their fact-checks accessible to people with disabilities. They’ve focused on providing alternative text (ALT) for images, recognizing that images are a significant part of social media and ensuring universal access to content is essential.

Read more: Concerns about govt.’s fact check unit

UPSC Syllabus: Polity and nation, Technology