A SURREPTITIOUS ASSAULT Centre accused of backdoor censorship on free speech

Arshad Shaikh reports on the proposed change in IT rules by the government to check and regulate fake news. The move upset civil society and the media fraternity as it envisaged assigning the government’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) as the sole adjudicator for “fact-checking”. Thankfully, due to sustained opposition by the concerned stakeholders, the move…

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Arshad Shaikh

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Arshad Shaikh reports on the proposed change in IT rules by the government to check and regulate fake news. The move upset civil society and the media fraternity as it envisaged assigning the government’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) as the sole adjudicator for “fact-checking”. Thankfully, due to sustained opposition by the concerned stakeholders, the move has been stalled pending further consultations. The brazen manner in which the media has acquiesced to the diktats of the “powers that be” for favourable headline management, the attempts to tweak data privacy laws and now the imposition of a “sarkari” fact-checking agency – all cry out for an alert citizenry that is zealous to protect its freedom and civil liberties. Deadwood is easy to burn and reduce to ashes.

The government recently announced its intention to bring about changes in the Information Technology Rules, 2021 to counter the menace of fake news. Under the proposed new rules, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) would be authorised to force social media platforms to take down content deemed fake.

What riled the custodians of free speech and “press freedom” was the appointment of the government’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) as the new authorised “fact-checking” agency. This was definitely problematic as it gave outright power to the government to bring down news stories that it considered inimical to its interests. If we look at the PIB, it is “the nodal agency of the Government of India to disseminate information to the print and electronic media on government policies, programmes, initiatives and achievements.” It reaches “out to about 8,400 newspapers and media organisations in different parts of country.”

PIB launched its fact-checking division four years back. PIB is managed by the central government bureaucracy. This move to appoint the government’s press arm as the final authority to judge the veracity of news was an open and shut case of “conflict of interest”. How could the government decide if news about itself is incorrect? Could any agency directly controlled by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting have to spine to resist a directive to take down a story that is extremely critical of the government? PIB as the sole “arbiter of truth” was a non-starter and thankfully, the government has now frozen its implementation pending further consultations.

OBJECTIONS TO THE MOVE

The PIB Fact Check Unit (PIB FCU) Twitter handle has 286.6K followers and touts itself as “Countering misinformation on Govt. policies/schemes.” Its Facebook page, however, has only 59K followers. PIB FCU can be reached on its WhatsApp hotline – 8799711259 and by email at socialmedia@pib.gov.in. Media reports suggest the PIB FCU was off the mark many a time.

Authentic reports that were critical of government policy in the Covid era were declared fake news. Reports about the presence of Chinese troops on the Indian side of LAC were termed false by PIB FCU but the same was later corroborated through a defenceministry document. There are many such examples.

The Editors Guild of India (EGI) is the premier, non-partisan association of editorial leaders in India. It is committed to free, fair and independent journalism. It was founded with the twin objectives of protecting press freedom and raising the standards of editorial leadership of newspapers and magazines.

Expressing concern over the amendment in IT Rules, the EGI issued a press release saying, “At the outset, the determination of fake news cannot be in the sole hands of the government and will result in the censorship of the press. Already multiple laws exist to deal with content that is found to be factually incorrect. This new procedure basically serves to make it easier to muzzle the free press, and will give sweeping powers to the PIB, or any “other agency authorised by the Central Government for fact checking”, to force online intermediaries to take down content that the government may find problematic. The Guild urges the Ministry to expunge this new amendment, and to initiate meaningful consultations with press bodies, media organisations, and other stakeholders, on the regulatory framework for digital media, so as to not undermine press freedom.”

The Congress party also objected to PIB becoming India’s official “fact-checker”. In a press conference, the INC spokesperson Pawan Khera said, “It is the endeavour of the Modi government to try and stop important issues confronting the nation from becoming news. First attempts are made to crush the mainstream media and their owners. Now the government is eyeing digital media and social media platforms. IT rules now need to be read as “Image Tailoring” rules. Amendments to IT rules are designed to prevent the truth from coming out before the people.”

Khera posed the question, “How can my qatil (killer) become my munsif (judge)? How can he judge me?” The government is trying to become the judge, jury and executioner. It wants to issue rulings on itself.”

FACT-CHECKING – A RELIGIOUS OBLIGATION

Verse 6 of Surah Al Hujurat (49:6) of the Qur’ān says, “Believers, when an ungodly person brings to you a piece of news, carefully ascertain its truth, lest you should hurt a people unwittingly and thereafter repent at what you did.” The implication of this commandment is that one should not accept any important news or information without due diligence to check its veracity.

Sometimes the information could be pertaining to the security of a nation or pertaining to diplomatic relations between two countries. Hence, it is important to corroborate the information through official or reliable channels and then act upon it.

The entire domain of knowledge of the “Science of the Hadith” is based on the principle of critically examining the value and worth of the people (Asma al Rijal) through whom the noble traditions of the Prophet ﷺwould be accepted or rejected. However, all Islamic scholars (Ulama) agree that as far as the common worldly matters are concerned, it is not necessary to ascertain the truth of each and every news story and the reliability of every informer. As the word used in the Qur’ānic verse is naba, it does not apply to every news but only to the news of consequence. That is why the jurists (fuqaha) say that this principle does not apply in routine matters. Having said that, in an age and geography where a single tweet or statement issued against some religion or religious personality is sufficient to ignite passions and lead to communal conflagration, it is important to fact-check news that is becoming viral and becoming the subject of media debate.

THE ROLE OF MEDIA

The media has an important role to play in society. The media builds the “informed citizen” who is aware about the government, politics, the economy and the environment, etc. The media educates the public and serves as a platform for airing diverse voices. It serves as a tool for publicity and a place where advocacy can be built for the promotion of ideas and ideologies. It is important to protect the freedom and the independence of the media and prevent it from becoming a stooge of the government and a pawn in the hands of the rich and powerful.

As Noam Chomsky said, “If you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for views you don’t like. Goebbels was in favour of freedom of speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you are in favour of freedom of speech, that means you’re in favour of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise.”