NEW DELHI: The government's now-recalled '
fake news' order setting out loss of accreditation as a penalty came in for sharp criticism from the
Editors Guild of India, which condemned the move as "arbitrary" and an attempt by the government to "police the media".
Asserting that the Guild stood for the "highest journalistic standards" and that it was willing to work with governments and media bodies to define 'fake news' and act against those found guilty, the body said the move, since withdrawn, would have opened the doors for frivolous complaints and harassment of journalists.
The Guild expressed concern over the manner in which the
Press Council of India - a body that was supposed to vet complaints about fake news - was reconstituted and the Guild's nominees rejected, citing technical grounds.
The statement issued by Guild president
Raj Chengappa said, "The Editors Guild of India strongly condemns the arbitrary manner contemplated by the I&B ministry ostensibly to penalise any journalist or media organisation publishing fake news.
"By notifying that the I&B ministry will initiate such proceedings, the government was arrogating for itself the role of policing the media. It would have opened the door for frivolous complaints to harass journalists and organisations to fall in line."
The Guild said the recent reconstitution of PCI was done in a manner that gave rise to doubts over the independence of the institution and its ability to be a neutral umpire. The recent reconstitution of the central press accreditation committee had led to questions over the nontransparent processes being followed by the I&B ministry as the Guild's application was ignored, it said.
The editors collective also noted that government and parties in power were very often charged with creating and propagating 'fake news' themselves. "The Guild also points out that fake news is a process that cannot be left to governments to initiate action when, on many occasions, governments and parties in power - both at the Centre and states - are charged with propagating fake news themselves," it said.
Moreover, news organisations are not the only source of generation of fake news with the country awash with digital platforms of all hues and opinions that operated without constraints and which had the potential to cause far more damage, the Guild said.
