Dr. Satwant Singh Rissam
The growth of internet usage in India has made it simple for crores of Indians to get data with help of phones and computers. Unfortunately, the higher internet penetration and increasing social media consumption has brought with it the menace of ‘fake news’ in India. The high usage of the internet has made it very simple to spread ‘fake news’, which now is affecting our society in all manners. Nowadays ‘fake news’ is contributing to future social problems with the spread of misinformation. So, for this everyone should fight against the spread of ‘fake news’ by doing critical thinking and then refusing to share such news. Thus, in present times it has become severe to know the truth and check sources of information.
Recently, many social issues in India were propelled by ‘fake news’ during the Covid vaccination and farmers’ protest. And in this manner, in the future also we can settle on some wrong choices and support inappropriate material. These wrong choices can prompt unseen social problems when such ‘fake news’ is shared on social media platforms and impact the social fabric. Although the key is to begin by doing critical thinking but then taking some extra steps with simple ‘fact-checking’ on daily basis will bring the desired results. Simple ‘fact-checking’ is significant as falsehood can influence our perspectives to a large extent.
Because ‘fake news’ always attempts to appeal to our emotions so our views regardless of our age, gender, location, or political beliefs can get affected due to misleading information. More importantly, we all, encounter ‘fake news’ on daily basis through social media and the result is that ‘fake news’ is flourishing in India and has become the reason for the lack of trust in media. To battle ‘fake news’ by promoting public awareness has become vital. Many instances show that people shared ‘fake news’ as they found it interesting and relevant to what’s going on in society. They didn’t know it was ‘fake news’ and they shared it without malicious intent. Many innocent acts of spreading ‘fake news’ caused serious consequences. For stopping this, we must work to fight ‘fake news’ that hurt individuals and society.
Young people who are not familiar with technology and older people are more likely to share ‘fake news’. Although young people living in cosmopolitan cities of India can at times judge such ‘fake news’, the situation is different for those living in far-flung areas. It is important to encourage all citizens to think critically about content that is reaching us through social media which is a perfect breeding ground for ‘fake news’ and helps it to spread like wildfire. We can learn simple basics things to counter ‘fake news’ and evaluate sources of information with the right information and some small fact-checking knowledge for daily basis usage.
To begin with, the first question to answer in the search for the truth is- Is the sensational news believable? Always don’t trust immediately what you read. Treat every sensational news with suspicion because there’s a good chance that it’s ‘fake news’. When it comes to the credibility of information sources always evaluate a link/website by checking the ‘Contact’ information provided on such link/website. There should be information provided about the owner/media house with contact details like number and email id’s. Moreover, always look at the domain’s URL as .com, .org, or .net, domains can be purchased by anyone, and they may be at times source of ‘fake news’.
The objective of the website becomes clear by looking at its “About” section, so always check this section. Besides, check when this content was published and whether the website is being updated at a regular interval with other news. Lastly, perhaps the best way to fight ‘fake news’ is to make sure by double-checking a piece of sensitive news by verifying it from reputable and independent news sources because important news spreads quickly between different news outlets. If there are other news outlets reporting a similar story, then it’s probably not ‘fake news’. But if it’s only on the website you’re reading then chances are high that it’s ‘fake news’.
Although we should learn IT-based fact-checking skills but critical thinking on fact-checking can help immediately in every situation. These are all simple methods to understand the accuracy of a news story on daily basis. There is no need for IT techniques every time in fighting the menace of fake news and such little literacy will help a lot. Under Article 51A (h) even the Indian Constitution provides that, “It shall be the duty of every citizen to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform”. Let’s follow this all and stop consuming and sharing ‘fake news’ which will have a far-reaching impact on the social fabric due to a problem fueled by digital illiteracy.
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