Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Express photo by Renuka Puri/File)
The International Press Institute on Wednesday commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s decision to withdraw his government’s contentious guidelines on fake news. Calling the proposal a misguided policy, the Vienna-based global organisation of editors, journalists and media executives, said the new rule would have impaired the freedom of journalists and their ability to report on crucial issues.
Amending guidelines for the accreditation of journalists, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry had issued a statement on Monday saying that a journalists’ accreditation would be revoked if he/she is found to have “created and/or propagated” fake news. Once a complaint was registered, the statement said that the journalists’ accreditation stood suspended. The Press Council of India and News Broadcasters Association, the two regulatory bodies for print and television media respectively, will determine whether the news is fake or not in 15 days. Media bodies and Opposition parties slammed this order calling it an attempt to curb press freedom ahead of the general elections in 2019.
“The announcement did not define what constituted fake news,” IPI said in a statement, adding that the “move was described by journalists as an attack on their freedom and an attempt to stifle their voices.”
Commending the decision of the prime minister to uphold media freedom, IPI’s executive director, Barbara Trionfi, said, “Access is an essential aspect of journalism. Without ease of access, journalists cannot perform their tasks and report facts accurately.”
Noting that the security and safety of jouranlists in India is under serious threat, the statement said, “Over the past few years many journalists have been murdered or died under mysterious circumstance. According to IPI’s Death Watch, seven journalists were killed in India in 2017, while at least three have been killed in the first three months of 2018 alone. Besides murders and assaults, Indian journalists also face threats and online abuse. Investigations are slow and in many cases no arrests have been made.”
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Requesting a swift action in the investigation of murders of journalists, Trifoni said, “The government of India should take steps to not only strengthen protection of journalists, but also to bring to book those responsible for the murders, assaults and harassment of reporters and editors in the country.”
Editors Guild condemns I&B Ministry’s ‘arbitrary measure’
The Editors Guild of India has strongly condemned the “arbitrary” measure contemplated by the I&B Ministry to regulate fake news. It said the Ministry’s decision was meant to “browbeat and muzzle the press.”
The Editors Guild said that “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 also acknowledged the intervention of the Prime Minister’s Office to withdraw the I&B Ministry’s notification but added that it remains deeply disturbed that faith continues to be reposed on the Press Council of India to deliver justice on such issues.
INS welcomes PM Modi’s response to draconian guidelines on fake news
Indian Newspaper Society (INS), an apex body of the print media industry, also welcomed Prime Minister’s intervention. “After widespread criticism by journalists and opposition (parties), who realised this was an attempt to curb and control the freedom of press, the prime minister finally withdrew these draconian guidelines on fake news,” the INS said in a release.”
The body, in its statement also added that it was “anguished over the recent unreasonable and biased decision of the Chairman, PCI while selecting the names of persons to be nominated as members for a fresh term.” “It is imperative that mature responsibility and neutrality is now displayed, even at this late stage, to restore the credibility, impartiality and prestige of the Press Council of India,” the statement read.