Fake information should be fought robustly with trustable information, says Anurag Thakur

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Terming ‘malicious and weaponised disinformation’ a matter of nice concern for governments throughout the globe, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Friday mentioned that ‘fake news’ is a ‘virulent virus’, which needs to be countered with ‘trustable news’.

Speaking on the valedictory ceremony for Indian Information Service (IIS) officer trainees at Indian Institution of Mass Communications (IIMC), he mentioned that the alarming rise of malicious disinformation dissemination, which is a world phenomenon, is tremendously facilitated by the arrival of social media platforms.

“It is of great concern, not only for us but governments around the world, how malicious disinformation often seeks to intervene and influence the political process…Fake News, the other virulent virus of our times, can be, should be, and must be fought robustly with Trustable News,” mentioned the minister.

He added that IIS officers are the frontline defenders of the nation’s official info system that protects India’s pursuits and shields its democratic construction. “It would be your job to think out of the box, cut the clutter and relentlessly push the facts. There should be no compromise on this simple necessity for an official information system. Prompt, precise and perfect – that is the threefold target you have to set for yourselves,” mentioned the minister.  Thakur additional said that the first process of the officers could be to gasoline an knowledgeable understanding of points in order that public discourse is well-informed.

Highlighting the menace of this ‘infodemic’ additional, Thakur mentioned that whereas democratisation of public areas supplied by tech platforms has little doubt had a optimistic impression and permits bottom-up participation in common debate and discourse. “At the same time malicious, weaponised disinformation, whether internal or external, has worked against the positive gains of this democratisation of public spaces,” mentioned the minister.

NEW DELHI: Terming ‘malicious and weaponised disinformation’ a matter of nice concern for governments throughout the globe, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Friday mentioned that ‘fake news’ is a ‘virulent virus’, which needs to be countered with ‘trustable news’.

Speaking on the valedictory ceremony for Indian Information Service (IIS) officer trainees at Indian Institution of Mass Communications (IIMC), he mentioned that the alarming rise of malicious disinformation dissemination, which is a world phenomenon, is tremendously facilitated by the arrival of social media platforms.

“It is of great concern, not only for us but governments around the world, how malicious disinformation often seeks to intervene and influence the political process…Fake News, the other virulent virus of our times, can be, should be, and must be fought robustly with Trustable News,” mentioned the minister.googletag.cmd.push(perform() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );

He added that IIS officers are the frontline defenders of the nation’s official info system that protects India’s pursuits and shields its democratic construction. “It would be your job to think out of the box, cut the clutter and relentlessly push the facts. There should be no compromise on this simple necessity for an official information system. Prompt, precise and perfect – that is the threefold target you have to set for yourselves,” mentioned the minister.  Thakur additional said that the first process of the officers could be to gasoline an knowledgeable understanding of points in order that public discourse is well-informed.

Highlighting the menace of this ‘infodemic’ additional, Thakur mentioned that whereas democratisation of public areas supplied by tech platforms has little doubt had a optimistic impression and permits bottom-up participation in common debate and discourse. “At the same time malicious, weaponised disinformation, whether internal or external, has worked against the positive gains of this democratisation of public spaces,” mentioned the minister.