Siddaramaiah’s call to stop fake news

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah emphasised the need to stop fake news as it threatens peace in the society.

Participating in the Press Day celebrations organised by Mysuru District Journalists’ Association (MDJA) on Saturday, Mr. Siddaramaiah said fake news spreads at an alarming pace, sparking religious and social confrontations in the society.

He contended that fake news harms the society and the people living amongst all of us, the Chief Minister said creating and spreading fake news posed a threat to peace in the society.

He pointed out that fake news is not created and spread by journalists only but also by others. “If fake news is not stopped, it will be difficult for democratic, constitutional and social values to survive,” he said.

Mr. Siddaramaiah said he was reminded editor of Guardian, late C.P. Scott’s famous dictum “Comment is free, but facts are sacred”.

Seeking to cite an example of fake news, Mr. Siddaramaiah said while speaking in the Legislative Assembly, he quoted former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s response to a demand for farm loan waiver from V.S. Ugrappa in the Legislative Council when the BJP leader said his government does not have currency note printing machines.

But, the social media twisted the video and was showing as though he (Mr. Siddaramaiah) made such a statement. The records in the Legislative Council will prove that the statement was made by Mr. Yediyurappa, but the social media was attributing the statement to him and further linking it to the guarantee schemes of the present Congress government, lamented Mr. Siddaramaiah.

He said the State government had come up with strict laws to curb such fake news including the setting up of a “Fact Check” system in police department.

However, he expressed skepticism over curbing fake news through laws and called upon the people in the society to join the campaign against the menace.

Minister in charge of Mysuru district H.C. Mahadevappa, Former Minister Tanveer Sait, MLA Ravishankar, Deputy Chairperson of State government’s Guarantee Implementation Committee Pushpa Amarnath, Chief Minister’s Media Advisor K.V. Prabhakar, and Executive Editor of Prajavani Ravindra Bhat were also present on the occasion.

Earlier, Mr. Siddaramaiah felicitated photographer M.A. Sriram, reporter Mahesh Shravanabelagola, cameraman Nagesh S., besides senior journalists M.S.N. Kiran Kumar, Saligrama Yashwant, and K.N. Nagasundrappa for their contribution to journalism. He also gave away the annual awards to H.S. Sachit, Shilpa P., Udayshankar N., and G. Jayanth.

Published - September 21, 2024 07:36 pm IST