Smriti Irani-led ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday came up with a new set of guidelines for accreditation of journalists in order to “regulate fake news.”
According to the new guidelines, if an investigation by media regulatory agencies like Press Council of India (PCI) & News Broadcasters Association (NBA) establishes that a journalist has reported fake news, he/she will lose accreditation.
“…the accreditation shall be suspended for a period of 6 months in the first violation and for one year in the case of 2nd violation and in the event of 3rd violation it would be cancelled permanently,” the press release issued by the Ministry said.
Photographers and video cameramen gather outside the special court in Mumbai May 18, 2007 | Source: Reuters
Soon after the announcement, journalists from across the country voiced their disapproval with the order and called it an attack on Freedom of Speech and Expression.
Sensing damage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervened and set aside the order issued by the minsitry.
An out-of-focus idea
Since the guidelines were aimed at print and electronic media only, the amended rules for accreditation curiously left out the digital media – which is arguably where the most of fake news is reported and circulated apart from social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.
While the government’s concern regarding fake news is significant, the absence of a definition as to what constitutes fake news is an major gap in the entire story. In other words, nobody knows what’s fake news.
Ideally, the focus on cracking down on misinformation and propaganda should have centered around distorted and communally inflammatory content circulated on social media platforms. While the anonymity may be an advantage for trouble-makers on social media, many times it’s not hard to guess the source of fake information doing rounds on the web. But the government has come up with no mechanism to deal with that.
What’s fake news?
The only authority which comes close to establish the accuracy of a news report in India are autonomous bodies like Press Council of India (PCI) in case of print media & News Broadcasters Association (NBA) in case of TV media.
Indian journalists shout slogans during a protest to condemn an assault on fellow media workers by lawyers at a court in New Delhi in Mumbai on February 17, 2016 | Source: AFP
But going the way ruling government’s ministers have been trashing major news stories – reported with all the documents, official quotes and on-the-spot investigations – the modified guidelines were ominous for press freedom.
According to an Indian Express report, at least 13 Union Ministers, including I&B Minister Smriti Irani, over the last two days, have tweeted a link to a website which claims to have busted “four major fake news stories.”
The website – https://www.thetruepicture.in – is linked to a New Delhi-based technology firm BlueKraft Digital Foundation. The same firm is the “technology and knowledge” partner to Exam Warriors, the latest book authored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help children fight exam stress, the Express report said.
Also, the website doesn’t shy away from hiding its pro-BJP slant in its stories. Sample these headlines: Gujarat’s Agricultural Story – The Modi Miracle!, Why Doesn’t the Media Pose Tough Questions to Congress?, On Mr Siddaramaiah’s Watch: Karnataka Witnesses Spike in Communal Violence.
The “four major fake news stories” busted by the website and retweeted by the Union ministers includes two reports from the same newspaper. Both the stories reported by the newspaper are based on official documents and an FIR – a standard practice of reporting public institutions. It’s questionable if 13 Union ministers call such reporting “fake news”, then what qualifies as the “real news” for them?
Axing accreditation
It’s also essential to look at why the government focused on the cancellation of accreditation of journalists as the only way of “punishing” a journalist for fake news.
Accreditation gives a journalist access to government officials and government departments. In a way, it’s an essential part of a journalist daily work. Everyday, reporters of various beats visit the concerned departments, talk to officials, develop sources, attend their events in order to serve the public by ensuring accountability of those departments.
In India, a journalist with at least 5 years experience as a full-time working journalist is accredited with Press Information Bureau of the central government. In case of freelancers, the experience required for accreditation is 15 years. The PIB accreditation allows the journalists to get notified about all the announcements, events, workshops, seminars etc. of the government. It also gives access to reporters to attend press conferences of ministers, Prime Minister, President and other top officials of the government.
Hard times for journalists
The announcement comes at a time when journalists in India are facing pressure from various quarters of the government and mafia networks.
Representational Image | Source: Reuters
Just last week, two journalists in Bihar were killed in two “mysterious” accidents. One of the slain journalists, Sandeep Sharma was reporting consistently on the nexus between police and illegal sand-mining mafia operations in Bihar.
Over the last year, a number of country’s top journalists have quit their respective organizations after their managements faced pressure from the government.
Recently, editor-in-chief of Chandigarh-based newspaper The Tribune Harish Khare put in his papers following the newspaper’s expose on the serious technical flaws and gaps in the government’s pet Aadhaar project. Following the massive outcry, the government filed an FIR against the violators including Rachna Khaira, the reporter of the expose.
Last year, India ranked 136th in the World Press Freedom Index, three points down from 2016.
“With Hindu nationalists trying to purge all manifestations of ‘anti-national’ thought from the national debate, self-censorship is growing in the mainstream media,” the Press Freedom Index prepared by Reporters Without Borders said.
In such a scenario, the new guidelines, if implemented, would have sounded a death knell for the press freedom in India.
