The statement issued by the I&B Ministry said that the accreditation of a journalist will be suspended if he/she is found to have “created or propagated” fake news.
In a first, the Modi government has come up with regulations to tackle the ‘fake news’ menace. The information and broadcasting ministry has charged the Press Council of India and News Broadcasters Association to lay down appropriate guidelines in this regard.
According to the new amendment, if a journalist is found to be creating or propagating fake news, he/she will face suspension or permanent cancellation of the accreditation. The statement issued by the Ministry on Monday said the duty to determine whether the news in question is fake or not will lay with PCI-regulatory body for Print media and NBA- Regulatory Body for electronic media.
Guidelines for Accreditation of Journalists Amended to Regulate Fake News https://t.co/c1FbyUZX8Y
— Sitanshu Kar (@DG_PIB) April 3, 2018
The statement said that upon receiving a complaint of carrying fake news, the case will be referred to these two regulatory bodies. Within a stipulated time period of 15 days, the relevant authority has to decide whether the news is fake or not. Till then the accreditation of the journalist in question will be suspended.
Guidelines for accreditation of journalists amended to regulate #FakeNews
More Here: https://t.co/hlodUlBzsX— PIB India (@PIB_India) April 3, 2018
Once it is found that the news is fake, the journalist in question will face 6 months accreditation suspension for the first violation, one-year suspension for second and lifetime suspension for the third.
The statement also mentions that the regulatory bodies while considering new accreditation requests will examine whether the journalist is following the ‘Norms of Journalistic Conduct’ and ‘Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards’ prescribed by the PCI and NBA.
Image source: PIB
The ministry said it was necessary to bring in a regulation considering the spurt of fake news in print and broadcast media. However, the statement does not define what is fake news and what is not. Additionally, it also keeps Social Media, web portals out of its ambit.
While the government is claiming that the order will tackle the fake news menace, noted journalist have expressed their concern over the order.
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