{"id":246219,"date":"2023-06-03T20:23:49","date_gmt":"2023-06-03T14:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=246219"},"modified":"2023-06-03T20:23:49","modified_gmt":"2023-06-03T14:53:49","slug":"criticism-of-governments-attempt-to-combat-fake-news-is-premature-and-misguided","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/criticism-of-governments-attempt-to-combat-fake-news-is-premature-and-misguided\/","title":{"rendered":"Criticism of government\u2019s attempt to combat fake news is premature and misguided"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source-<\/strong> The post is based on the article \u201cCriticism of government\u2019s attempt to combat fake news is premature and misguided\u201d published in \u201cThe Indian Express\u201d on 3rd June 2023.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS3- Role of Media and Social Networking Sites in Internal Security Challenges<\/p>\n

Relevance- <\/strong>Issues related to fake news<\/p>\n

News<\/strong>– On April 6, MeitY announced the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023.<\/p>\n

What are provisions contained in these rules?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The rules introduce \u201cfact-checking units\u201d<\/strong> to tackle the menace of fake news. These fact-check units have been tasked with the duty of identifying false, fake or misleading information pertaining to the central government\u2019s business.<\/p>\n

What are dangers associated with false news?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the last half-decade, governments across the have begun to recognise the threat posed by fake or false information.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The hazards of fake information were released during the Covid-19 crisis. The pace at which false information began to spread was unprecedented. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Fake or misleading news can spread like wildfire on social media. Scholars at the Massachusetts Institute of Technolog<\/strong>y even found that falsified content spreads six times faster <\/strong>than factual content on online platforms.<\/p>\n

People are more likely to spread<\/strong> fake and misleading news than verified truthful information. <\/strong><\/p>\n

A study conducted by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions <\/strong>found that India was a hot-bed for Covid-related fake new<\/strong>s. Such misleading information ranged from the vaccine drive to the symptoms and aftermath of the virus itself.<\/p>\n

What are issues related to deep fakes?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It is important for governments to prepare themselves for the dangerous interplay of fake news <\/strong>and AI-related technologies such as deepfakes<\/strong> in the digital world.<\/p>\n

In February, deep fakes of news anchors<\/strong> praising China\u2019s role in geopolitical relations were spread across Twitter and Facebook<\/a> by pro-China accounts. Deepfakes of the Ukrainian President<\/strong> announcing a surrender were also circulated across platforms last year.<\/p>\n

This convincing ability <\/strong>of deep fakes, and the inability of people to separate them from truthful content<\/strong>, makes them prone to being used to spread false information.<\/p>\n

Why does the government need to act against false news?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Falsified information can have detrimental impact<\/strong> on the government\u2019s ability to manage emergencies. <\/strong><\/p>\n

For instance, carrying out essential vaccination initiatives<\/strong>. Any roadblock in the easy and quick implementation<\/strong> of such initiatives could be life-threatening.<\/p>\n

Further, such falsified information purpose is to create a state of alarm amongst the public.<\/strong> This can have dangerous law and order consequences. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Why criticism against the rules having a \u201cchilling effect\u201d on the public is wholly unsubstantiated?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The fact-checking units <\/strong>are still to be notified by the government. Even the Bombay High Court, orally remarked that at this stage they are presently \u201cinoperable\u201d due to non-notification <\/strong>of the fact-checking units.<\/p>\n

It is only upon the notification of the units that further nuances<\/strong> will be known. Thus, any arguments against the rules right now would be premature.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source- The post is based on the article \u201cCriticism of government\u2019s attempt to combat fake news is premature and misguided\u201d published in \u201cThe Indian Express\u201d on 3rd June 2023. Syllabus: GS3- Role of Media and Social Networking Sites in Internal Security Challenges Relevance- Issues related to fake news News– On April 6, MeitY announced the… Continue reading Criticism of government\u2019s attempt to combat fake news is premature and misguided<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[216,10500],"class_list":["post-246219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-3","tag-indian-express","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246219\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}