Fake News India

Need accountability in digital media to combat fake news: Vaishnaw

Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Railways, and Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday chaired the National Press Day celebrations at the National Media Centre virtually, a press release said.The event was also graced by the presence of Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, Dr L. Murugan, Chairperson of the Press Council of India, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and veteran journalist, Kundan Ramanlal Vyas.According to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Vaishnaw while addressing the gathering virtually highlighted India's vibrant and diverse media ecosystem, which includes 35,000 registered newspapers, numerous news channels, and a robust digital infrastructure. The Minister noted that investments in 4G and 5G networks have propelled India to the forefront of digital connectivity with the lowest data prices globally.However,

Cong leader Balasaheb Thorat accuses CM Shinde of spreading 'fake news'

Congress Legislature Party leader in Maharashtra Balasaheb Thorat on Sunday accused Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis of creating religious discord by spreading "fake news". Thorat's comments came a day after CM Shinde said the Congress government in Karnataka was trying to shut down Ganesh festival celebrations. Shinde on Saturday also said the opposition targeted his government over the collapse of a statue of Shivaji Maharaj (in Sindhudurg), but remains silent about police in Congress-ruled Karnataka putting a Ganesh idol in a police van. Videos purportedly showing Karnataka police taking away a Ganesh idol from protestors and putting it in a police van have gone viral on social media. "The only thing that the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister are doing full time is creating a fake narrative by constantly spreading fake news," Thorat claimed in a post on X and asked whether they were running "fake news factories". Earlier, they protested agains

MeitY urges swift removal of fake content by intermediaries after HC order

The Bombay High Court ordered the deletion of false information following the circulation of fake videos featuring NSE's MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan

CM's fake audio clip being spread to derail peace process: Manipur govt

The Manipur government said a "doctored audio clip" of Chief Minister N Biren Singh is being circulated on social media platforms to incite communal violence and derail the peace process in the state. A press release issued by Manipur government's Directorate of Information and Public Relations on Monday night appealed to general public to not rely on such unfounded contents circulating in social media and news reports and also to refrain from involvement in spreading such false and fabricated information through any media. It warned that people shall be prosecuted under relevant provisions of laws if found involved in spreading such unfounded and baseless content or posting and sharing of such content. An FIR has been registered in the Cyber police station on the doctored audio clip claiming to be that of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh which is being circulated on social media platforms, the release said, adding that investigation is underway. The release said the Manipur ..

Multiple cases registered against Mahant Ramgiri after controversial remark

Mahant Ramgiri Maharaj, during a recently held religious event, allegdely made derogatory remarks against Islam and Prophet Mohammed, which created tension between the two communities

Musk launches X's 'Community Notes' programme in India: Here's how it works

The 'Community Notes' programme will allow contributors to participate in fact-checking tweets in order to create a more informed digital environment

Supreme Court stays govt notification on setting up of fact-check units

Comedian Kunal Kamra, the Editors Guild of India, and the Association of Indian Magazines challenged the formation of FCUs to monitor social media content on government

Poonam Pandey fake death: Company issues apology for actor's gimmick

Poonam Pandey's PR, Schbang has apologised for faking her death as part of a cervical cancer awareness campaign, prompting a controversy on the morality of such strategies

Poor quality results on search engines contribute to misinformation: Study

A study has found that people who performed online searches to verify the truthfulness of a piece of possible misinformation actually ended up believing it due to "poor quality results" from search engines. The findings, according to researchers, flag the need for online search engines to address the challenge posed by the appearance of non-credible information at the top of search results. The study conducted by a research team from the University of Central Florida, New York University and Stanford University, US, aimed at understanding the impact of search results produced when people used search engines to evaluate the veracity of news. The findings, published in the journal Nature, highlighted the need for media literacy programs to ground recommendations in empirically tested interventions and search engines to invest in solutions to the challenges identified by this study. "Our study shows that the act of searching online to evaluate news increases belief in highly popular .

In Instagram post, Ratan Tata flags fake interview recommending investments

Veteran industrialist and former Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata on Wednesday issued a "fake" alert for misusing his name on social media to "exaggerate investment" with risk-free and 100 per cent guarantee. In a post on Instagram, Tata called out a post from a user by the name of Sona Agrawal that used a fake interview of him in a video recommending investments. In the fake video, Tata addresses Sona Agrawal as his manager. "A recommendation from Ratan Tata for everyone in India. This is your chance to exaggerate your investment right today risk free with 100 per cent guarantee. Go to the channel right now," read the caption of the video post. The video also showed messages of people receiving money in their account. Tata wrote FAKE on the video and also on the screenshot of the caption of the video.

Fake news creates unrest, affects country's economy: K'taka CM Siddaramaiah

Fake news creates unrest in society, affecting the country's GDP and per capita income, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday. He asked police to take strict legal action against those spreading fake news. Speaking at a Police Remembrance Day programme after paying tribute to martyrs at the Martyrs' Park on Mysore Road, the chief minister spoke about the problems being created by fake news. He said it is creating unrest and spreading hatred widely. "It is the responsibility of the government and the police system to see and treat all people equally," Siddaramaiah said. "False and hateful news is harmful to the country's GDP. The per capita income of the people is also affected as a result of unrest. Therefore, strict legal action should be taken against websites that spread fake news and those who operate them," Siddaramaiah said. With the advancement of technology, the police department is facing new challenges, the chief minister underlined. Stating that cyber crimes are

G20 Summit: Govt offices on alert mode from 'misleading, counterfeit emails

Focussing with a header of "Scam alert", the warning pointed that "fake emails are in circulation impersonating CEO 14C"

Back from the dead! Celebrities whose death rumours shocked the world

From Justin Bieber to Kim Jong-Un, here are some of the most popular figures who came back from the dead on social media

Bombay HC asks Centre why it needs a fact-checking unit when PIB exists

Bombay HC is hearing arguments against the amendments to the information technology rules suggested by the Centre, which includes a fact-checking unit for social media content

Centre's fact-check unit: What is it and how does the Union govt defend it?

IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar says the govt-backed fact-check body will work in a credible way, and those who defy the rules will have to deal with it in the court of law

Not PIB, MeitY-led team may scrutinise news items to mark them as fake news

The decision drew harsh criticism from the supporters of free speech in the country

Consultations going on for change of rules on identifying fake news: Rijiju

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said amendments to the rules for determining fake news, false news and misrepresentation have been put through a consultation process, but need a lot of deliberations before being enforced. "We are looking towards making certain amendments in the entire election process. I cannot give any commitment because it is a consultation process which is going on. So the definition of fake news, false news and misrepresentation ... these are all important things which require a lot of deliberations. We are doing it," Rijiju told reporters here after inaugurating the Legal Aid office. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023 on Thursday. The 2023 amendments confer the power on the ministry to notify a fact-check unit of the Centre that will identify fake, false or misleading online content with respect to any business

Trusted fact checkers: Govt to work with tech majors to create a framework

Deepfakes are videos creating delusion with the use of deep learning, other artificial intelligence techniques and photoshopping to make images of fake events

Fake news capable of snowballing into matter of national concern: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said a piece of single fake news has the capability to snowball into a matter of national concern and emphasised the need to come up with technological advancement to check them. Addressing the 'Chintan Shivir' here, a gathering of home ministers of states to deliberate on issues of internal security, Modi stressed on the need to educate people about analysing and verifying any piece of information before forwarding it to others. "One should think 10 times before forwarding any information and verify it before believing it. Every platform has tools to verify any information. If you will browse through different sources, you will get a new version of it," the prime minister said. Pointing out the possibilities of social media, Modi said that one should not limit it to being the source of information. He said that a piece of single fake news has the capability to snowball into a matter of national concern. Modi lamented the losses that India ha

Govt blocks 45 videos on 10 YouTube channels for airing fake news: Thakur

Government has ordered the blocking of 45 videos from 10 YouTube channels that contained fake news and morphed content with the intent to spread hatred amongst religious communities, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Monday. The blocked videos had a cumulative viewership of over 1.30 crore and claimed that the government had taken away the religious rights of certain communities, an official statement said. "These channels had content that spread fear and misconception among communities," Thakur said. An official statement said the blocked content included fake news and morphed videos spread with the intent to spread hatred among religious communities. "Some of the videos blocked by the Ministry were being used to spread disinformation on issues related to Agnipath scheme, Indian Armed Forces, India's national security apparatus, Kashmir," it said. The content was observed to be false and sensitive from the perspective of national security and India's ...