Government defines 'fake news' in Parliament; says social media being used for weaponisation of information

Responding to questions about 'fake news' that were raised in Parliament, Union Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad addressed the issue by defining the concept and mentioning the efforts taken by the government to curb it.
 
In light of incidents of violence and lynchings that have originated due to the spread of fake news, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that occurrences such as these were 'painful', 'regrettable' and a 'matter of deep concern for the government'

Defining the term 'fake news', Ravi Shankar Prasad said "Fake news is a type of propaganda that consists of deliberate misinformation or hoax that is spread via traditional print and broadcast media or online social media. It can include text, visual, audio, data reports etc. Fake news is written and published with intent to mislead in order to damage an agency, an entity or a person to create disturbance and unrest often using sensational dishonest or outright fabricated headlines to increase readership, online sharing, and internet revenue. The typical attributes of fake news are that it spreads fast, is doctored, is incorrect, manipulated, intentional and unverified"

About the threat that fake news poses, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that social media platforms are now being used as a vehicle for the weaponisation of information against India's strategic interests and economic stability. 

READ: Man Suspected Of Being Cattle Smuggler Beaten To Death In Alwar

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad who also spoke about the issue stated that all sides responsible for provoking, inciting and instigating lynchings are equally guilty for the crime. 

Further commenting on the measures that his ministry had taken to curb the spread of fake news, Ravi Shankar Prasad stated that the government had issued a strong notice against Facebook-owned chat platform WhatsApp, through which most of the information leading to the lynching incidents were allegedly spread. 

READ: Google Engineer Lynched To Death In Karnataka's Bidar Over WhatsApp Rumours

In response to the Government's notice, WhatsApp updated its app, making changes such as limiting the number of forwards to five, denoting forwarded messages and indicated future updates such as removing the forward button for photos and videos and incorporating a fact checker to check for fake news. 

READ: Led By Social Media Rumours, Mob Lynches Two In Assam. 

Earlier on Thursday, senior leader of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) Derek O'Brien had tweeted that he would be posing 'sharp' questions to the government on the issue of rising number of lynching cases due to the misuse of social media.

Speaking on the misuse of social media, Ravi Shankar Prasad offered a counter-argument, pointing out positive aspects of the medium such as students' education, guidance for farmers and preparation for governmental competitive examinations. 

"It is to be taken into consideration that social media has also been used for the betterment of the country. Children are studying because of social media, candidates are preparing for competitive exams, people are exchanging valuable information on groups, farmers are being educated by the government and this is all because India's digital profile is rising" he said. 

As per the Ministry of Home Affairs data, 45 people were killed in 40 different lynching cases across nine states between 2014 and March 3, 2018.

In the most recent incident, a 20-year-old man was lynched to death in Alwar, Rajasthan, by a group of cow vigilantes after being suspected of being a cattle smuggler. Similarly, in 2017, Pehlu Khan succumbed to his injuries after being brutally beaten by a group of cow vigilantes in the same city.