Fake news menace: Journalists found guilty may be banned for life by govt

In a major crackdown on the menace of fake news, the Narendra Modi-led central government on Monday said such an offence could lead to the accreditation of journalists found guilty of spreading false news being permanently cancelled.

The decision comes at a time when other countries have also become vigilant about the spread of fake news, especially after the recent expose of the Facebook Cambridge Analytica episode, which revealed instances of meddling with elections through unauthorised access to user data and spread of fake news. Amid all this, the Malaysian government recently proposed the Anti-Fake News Bill 2018, which will give the government sweeping powers to penalise those found guilty of creating or spreading fake news, along with a jail term of up to six years and fines as high as $130,000, according to CNN.

In India, meanwhile, the Information & Broadcasting Ministry, led by Smriti Irani, on Monday laid down the amended guidelines in a press release. Citing an increase in “instances of fake across various mediums, including print and electronic media,” the new guidelines propose that the government would permanently cancel the accreditation of journalists found guilty or creating or disseminating fake news.

The guidelines

The determinant body regarding any complaint for fake news would be the Press Council of India (PCI) for print media, and the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) for the electronic media. The ministry said the determination was expected to be completed within 15 days by these agencies.

The accreditation of the journalist who created and/or propagated the fake news would be suspended till the determination regarding the fake news is made after the complaint being registered, the ministry said.

The Accreditation Committee of the Press Information Bureau (PIB), which consists of representatives of both the PCI and the NBA, would be reached out for validating any accreditation request of any news media agency.

While examining the requests seeking accreditation, the regulatory agencies would check whether the Norms of Journalistic Conduct' and Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards', prescribed by the PCI and NBA, respectively, are adhered to by journalists as part of their functioning. It would be obligatory for journalists to abide by these guidelines.

The regulatory agencies “will examine whether the 'Norms of Journalistic Conduct’ and 'Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards’ prescribed by the PCI and NBA respectively are adhered to by the journalists” and it would be “obligatory for journalists to abide by these guidelines”.

A conflict of interest?

The move to clamp down on fake news by the government has been questioned by Congress leader Ahmed Patel as an attempt to prevent reporting news that is uncomfortable to the establishment. He also asked who would determine if a reported news item was "fake", and expressed apprehension that the rules might be misused to harass reporters.

I appreciate the attempt to control fake news but few questions for my understanding:
1.What is guarantee that these rules will not be misused to harass honest reporters?
2.Who is going to decide what constitutes fake news ?
1/2

— Ahmed Patel (@ahmedpatel) April 2, 2018

Union minister Smriti Irani refuted claims of government interference in press freedom. Responding to the criticism on Twitter, she replied that PCI and NBA, neither controlled by the government, will ascertain whether a news is fake or not.

Glad to see you awake @ahmedpatel ji whether a News article / broadcast is fake or not will be determined by PCI & NBA; both of whom I’m sure you know are not controlled/ operated by GOI.

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) April 2, 2018