Singapore Has A ‘Fake News Law’; What Are The Arguments For A Similar Legislation In India? – Swarajya

India has been a victim of much false propaganda, which has led to serious ramifications for the country. We have seen on multiple occasions that propagandist are the loudest who seek to overwhelm the silent truth. False propaganda has sought to drive the narrative and overwhelm any reform measure.

Any reform will hurt some vested interest groups. Vested interest along with political opposition (who will oppose anything and everything) and at times inspired by unfriendly foreign forces (Greta Thunberg and Rihanna for their infamous tweet supporting farmer protests) will almost always overwhelm the slow, bumbling government bureaucracy, which is generally wary of propaganda.

For example, the misinformation of discontinuation of Minimum Support Price (MSP), despite repeated assurances by the government, has derailed the Farm Laws.

Recently a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and other senior journalists for falsely tweeting that the Delhi Police had shot at a protesting farmer riding the tractor during the farmers' tractor rally on Republic Day. It was clarified with CCTV footage that he died after his tractor rammed into the police barricade and turned turtle. Moreover, the forensic report showed no bullet injuries on the body of the protestor.

When President of India unveiled the portrait of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at Rashtrapati Bhavan to commemorate his 125th birth anniversary celebrations, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, journalists Barkha Dutt, Sagarika Ghose, etc., falsely ridiculed that the portrait was not of Netaji but that of Bengali actor Prosenjit Chatterjee, who had played the role of Netaji in a film, despite government sources reiterating that the portrait was indeed that of Netaji.

Misinformation related to the coronavirus pandemic has been rampant with social media messages on home remedies that have not been verified, fake advisories and conspiracy theories have contributed to vaccine hesitancy.

Recently, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had made a false claim that a 'Singapore variant' of Covid-19, which is "very dangerous" for children, could herald a 'third wave' in India. Thus we must stop all flights with Singapore.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry (MFA) had hit out at him for making false claims without checking the facts and also debunked the social media assertions. In recent weeks, the strain prevalent in many of the Covid-19 cases is the B.1.617.2 variant, which was first detected in India. Singapore has threatened to invoke POFMA against Kejriwal.

The Question Of Freedom Of Speech And Expression

Article 19(1) of the Constitution of India guarantees Freedom of Speech and Expression. It is pertinent to note that the above right is not absolute and has certain limitations such as matters that are against foreign relations, public policy, integrity and sovereignty of the State, decency and morality, public order, etc., as mentioned in Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India. Freedom of Speech is not freedom to speak lies.

POFMA is controversial and has received criticism both locally and internationally by opposition politicians, human rights groups, journalists and academics. There were concerns that the Act would enable authorities to suppress criticism and dissent.

However, safeguards are required to curb fake news. An Indian version of POFMA will act as a deterrent to mischief mongers spreading fake news in India. Fake news, when not debunked, can derail reforms, create false narratives, blemish reputations and can potentially create unrest or mob violence in society. It is about time India has its version of POFMA to counter the false narratives.

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Singapore Has A 'Fake News Law'; What Are The Arguments For A Similar Legislation In India? - Swarajya