Navigating Media Misinformation: The Battle Between Fact and Fake

With the media compromised, people are finding it hard to separate real news from the fake 

It's difficult to separate real news from fake. 

You can no longer rely on TV news shows for the truth. And social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp) have too much misinformation. 

Our broadcasters have become mouthpieces of political parties. The ones, you thought, would hold the government accountable for their actions, have drifted into their arms. Anyone voicing an opinion different from the government is a public enemy. An army of online trolls can discredit anyone who dares to speak out against a state narrative.  

Governments have always wanted to control the media. But India's press has never felt so threatened as it does under the regime of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Many Media outlets need government's support, thus, are reluctant to take on those in power for the fear of losing business. 

Noted journalist Punya Prasun Bajpai resigned from his position at ABP News because he spoke against the government. Bajpai revealed in detail to The Wire the circumstances of his ouster. One of the reasons he wrote that was he was not suppose to mention Modi's name on his show.  

A few have suffered fighting for the truth but a great many have benefited by denying its existence.

One among them is Republic TV's Arnab Goswami, a pro-establishment anchor and the loudest supporter of Modi. Goswami has gone above and beyond in his praise of Modi, and attacks anyone who questions the government. Republic TV acts at the behest of the government, often spreading the information that helps the people in power. 

Goswami has also been accused of causing communal disharmony. He sought to give a communal twist to the gruesome lynching of three people including two Hindu monks by the mob in Palghar, Maharashtra. The police are investigating the case.

Other prominent names in the bandwagon include anchors Sudhir Chaudhary and Amish Devgan. 

India is a country where a show of support can make a career and a sharp criticism end one. But there are some journalists, who go about doing their job, regardless of the consequence. But, one thing is for certain that the quality of news coverage in TV has dropped.

With the trust in TV fast disappearing, people are looking at social media platforms for information.

Twitter has taken a big step to earn that trust by adding fact-checking feature. 

According to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, the fact-checking feature is meant to contain the spread of lies and misinformation. "To connect the dots of conflicting statements and show the information in dispute so people can judge for themselves," Jack had tweeted.

It's first victim was US President Donald Trump, whose tweet was linked with this feature. 

Felt betrayed by the platform he uses the most, Trump launched a tirade of accusations in response. He issued an executive order that threatened to take away the legal protection for social media platforms, censoring 'free speech.'

But Twitter didn't erase or censor the tweet. It placed an icon at the bottom for the users, interested in knowing the truth about the words.

Trump posted the same words on Facebook, but the social media giant left it as it is. Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg thought different. He said private companies shouldn't be the arbiters of truth. 

The idea behind his decision was to keep Facebook out of trouble. Zuckerberg didn't want any confrontation. He wants Facebook to be more permissive in allowing the flow of information regardless of its nature. 

Such decisions do nothing but encourage the perpetrators of falsehoods.