Syed Mustafa Ahmad
As the world’s largest democracy with the second largest population, the issue of fake news poses a unique threat to India. Since the advent of COVID 19 in the whole world, the issue of fake news has got momentum. The fear brought by the COVID 19 throughout the world, has made it an item of fake news. The already frightened people are more frightened with the spread of fake news from one part of the country to another. The role of the government in curbing fake new is very important because we usually come to senses when a lot of damage has been done. We regret at the false time. Our genes are habitual of short-term decisions and abhor long-term solutions. So, it is appropriate to throw some light over this issue. Basically, false information is news, stories or hoaxes created to deliberately misinform or deceive readers. Usually, these stories are created to either influence people’s views, push or lift a political agenda or cause confusion and can often be a profitable business for online publishers. False information can deceive people by looking like trusted names and web addresses to reputable news organization.
Spread of fake news has seen a spike after some important national events. Starting with the Pulwama attack in February, 2019, the atmosphere was full of false information. The battlefields for a nuclear war were chosen in the interiors of the rooms. Social media sites were the war zones. In this fight, some miscreants were hell-bent upon to spread fake news in order to achieve what they wanted. Furthermore, the scrapping of one of the most contentious articles that Is Article 370, set the things on fire again. Luckily, we were not the part of that very futile struggle because we were cut off from the world of internet for 180 days. But the media was very much busy in spreading authentic news. They couldn’t believe that they had done it. However, it is a secondary thing that the way it was done is unacceptable. They were declaring the most important win of their life. They couldn’t miss a chance to attack those who were gifted with this (The betrayed_ Kashmiris). This incident, somehow, also became a good source of misinformation. The gullible people, who don’t understand the basic things, were entangled in the false debates of the Constituent Assembly of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir being now renamed as the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Next in the line comes the contentious issue of the Ayodhya dispute. The Supreme Court was false in its judgment but the like-minded people accepted the verdict for the sake of unity. But the miscreants were ready for the occasion to come. They did it. They are still doing it to gain some material from their misguided peers. In December when the diverse land of ours was not done away with the holy of the Ayodhya verdict, came the contentious issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act. It again as usual proved to be a war ground for fake news. Again the common people were targeted because they were not able to understand the complexities of the contentious issue. It is still being used as a source of misinformation, especially for those who are already in the throes of misery. And the last in line is the COVID 19. It is acting as the last nail in the coffin. There is fear everywhere. This fear is utilized by the people, knowingly or unknowingly, into something unimaginable. The spike in fake news has made the COVID 19 less lethal. Fake news has polarized our society at large. Communalism has become the order of the day. Blame game is the cherished goal of the people. It simply is a malicious game of uncivilized persons.
This moment demands humane approach. Let us come forward and sanitise our brains first and then the locality. It is true we are going through hardships, but risking our lives is also not a good way. Remain calm and be optimistic. We have to come out winning.
The above written things have made it clear how in the recent times, fake news anchored itself tightly in the soil. It is in this background that the Supreme Court came out in the arena. It is very important on the part of the Supreme Court to hold the reins of the society. The ruling government and its decisions aren’t acceptable to all but the Supreme Court is above all these parameters. It can play a fruitful role in saving the lives. In this endeavour, the Supreme Court observed that panic will destroy more lives than the virus , asked the centre to get trained counselors and community leaders of all faiths to calm down the migrants, who are kept in shelter homes across the country. The court asked the Centre to ensure that migration is stopped and to take care of food, shelter, nourishment and medical needs of the people and also to follow up cases of the virus, also called COVID 19. The centre told the Apex Court that the suggestion to sprinkle water and chemicals migrants to sanitise them doesn’t work scientifically and is not the right way. Further, the bench asked the Centre to ensure that duties of managing the shelter homes, where migrants are being kept , are entrusted to volunteers and not the police and there should not be any use of force or intimidation. Moreover, it asked the government that there must be adequate provisions of drinking water, food, beds and medicines in these shelters. Keeping the above written words in mind, we can easily deduce that how careful we have to remain in this situation. Migrants are panicked. They should be sympathized. There is no need of force at all. This moment demands humane approach. Let us come forward and sanitise our brains first and then the locality. It is true we are going through hardships, but risking our lives is also not a good way. Remain calm and be optimistic. We have to come out winning.
( The author is a freelancer. Views are his own, [email protected])
