Dehradun: Pankaj Pachauri, senior journalist and media advisor to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday spoke on fake news, how it originates, and its overall repercussions.
In an interaction with ETV Bharat, Pankaj said that social media was the biggest tool for spreading fake news as it was widely used by the common man for entertainment and within minutes the information reached millions. Pankaj was attending a two-day workshop organized by UNICEF from 28 October to 30 October in Dehradun for effective reporting on child health.
"Like other news platforms, social media does not have any filters to check the authenticity of the news. A news channel or a newspaper has reporters, and editors to verify the content, but on social media, there is no regulation and that's why it's a huge problem that needs to be solved. The best way to curb fake news is that people themselves cross-check whether what they are posting is authentic or not."
Asked whether the government can bring some laws to curb fake news he said: "If the government will come up with some laws it will be for their benefit and the government has control over media which is totally wrong. So if the government tries something like this it will face strong resistance from people and media platforms excusing freedom of speech. So media itself has to take the responsibility."
