Attacks on Journalist and spread of misinformation
Written By: Jay Chauhan
2nd Year BA LLB (Hons.)
Edited By: Yash Jain
5th Year B.B.A.LL.B.(H)
Amity Law School, Noida
Attacks on Journalist and spread of misinformation
A Report by new-Delhi rights-based organisation, in
terms of States and Union Territories where media organisations and journalists
were targeted in 2021, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and
Tripura were at the top of the list. In 2021, 13 news organisations were
targeted, 108 attacks, and at least 6 writers were targeted. According to the
report, J&K (25 journalists or media organisations) had the highest number
of targets, followed by Uttar Pradesh (23), Madhya Pradesh (16), Tripura (15),
Delhi (8), Bihar (6), Assam (5), Haryana and Maharashtra (4 each), Goa and
Manipur (3 each), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal (2 each), and Andhra
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Kerala (1 each).
The study of the data revealed that whereas Tripura
had the greatest number of assaults by non-State actors, J&K had the
greatest number of attacks by state actors.
Eight female journalists were subject to arrest,
summons, and First Information Reports registration. "The widespread violations
of press freedom from J&K to Tripura are a sign of the nation's civic
space's ongoing decline. According to RRAG director Suhas Chakma, the
Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code)
Rules, 2021, are a declaration of the government's intention to restrict press
freedom.
Spotlight on J & K:
At least 24 journalists are said to have been
physically assaulted, threatened, harassed, and prevented from doing their
professional duties by government agents, including police, in 2021. 17 of them
were attacked by the cops. Throughout the year, 44 journalists were the targets
of FIRs, 21 of which were filed under Section 153 of the IPC, which deals with
encouraging hatred. The Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate
conducted raids on the offices of media outlets, newspapers, and the homes of
journalists in 2021 who were critical of government policies and operations.
Spread of misinformation:
The Bhartiya Janata Party, the Narendra Modi
government, and their followers, according to the publication The Telegraph,
"produce and promote a significant portion of the misinformation. It comes
as no surprise that a lot of these false claims support their political
objectives.
Few examples of the misinformation:
1.
During
the CAA protest:
Social media was inundated with bogus news and
distorted information as a result of the CAA Protests, which both targeted the
demonstrators and Delhi police. Members of the governing BJP were observed
circulating recordings that falsely suggested Aligarh Muslim University
students were yelling anti-Hindu slurs.
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA advantages)'s and
goals were requested to be publicly disclosed by the Supreme Court of India in
order to filter out false information that was being spread about the topic.
To indicate support for the act, BJP leaders distributed a phone number
and asked individuals to leave a missed call.
Even well-known people posted outdated images and
videos on social media, giving the protests a collective feel. In several
places, old photographs were also used to show that the protests featured
violence.
Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP's IT Cell, posted
manipulated recordings that falsely showed anti-CAA demonstrators shouting
"Pakistan Zindabad" and disturbing anti-Hindu slurs.
2.
General
Election:
During the 2019 Indian general election, fake news was
widely spread. Throughout society, there was a lot of misinformation throughout
the election campaign. Some referred to the elections as "India's first
WhatsApp elections" since many people utilise WhatsApp as a propaganda
tool. Parties have "weaponized the platforms," according to VICE and
AltNews, and "misinformation was weaponized," respectively.
3.
Kashmir
issue:
There is a lot of misinformation and false information
about Kashmir. In order to stir up discontent and support insurgencies, images
from the Syrian and Iraqi civil conflicts have frequently been misidentified as
coming from the Kashmir conflict. After India revoked Jammu and Kashmir's
Article 370 in August 2019, there was misinformation over whether or not people
were suffering, a scarcity of supplies, and other administrative problems.
Along with other government handles, the CRPF and Kashmir Police's official
Twitter accounts warned out regional misinformation and disinformation.
Twitter accounts that were disseminating phoney,
inflammatory news was suspended with the help of the Ministry of Electronics
and Information Technology. Due to India's rising internet usage expanded from
137 million internet users in 2012 to over 600 million in 2019—the harm caused
by fake news on social media has expanded. Facebook and Twitter are also used
to distribute false information.
Conclusion:
In my point of view, In 2022, the Tamil Nadu
Government announced formation of a special Social
Media Monitoring Centre, under Tamil Nadu Police "to monitor
and curb the spread of fake news and misinformation online" central
government should also create such central.
References:
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2019-05-13-junk-news-and-misinformation-prevalent-indian-election-campaign
https://www.altnews.in/how-misinformation-was-weaponized-in-2019-lok-sabha-election-a-compilation/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-47797151
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