“This is a political phenomenon, and it should be fought politically,” says senior journalist Sreenivasan Jain about fake news  

“There is no end to fake news. But we are talking about the kind of fake news that is causing social unrest and has changed the nature of society and democracy. That new threat is coming directly from political power, and it is serving the interests of power. In India and around the world that is called as ‘the big lie’. It is called that because the falsehood itself is huge,” said senior journalist Sreenivasan Jain on Tuesday.  

“There is no end to fake news. But we are talking about the kind of fake news that is causing social unrest and has changed the nature of society and democracy. That new threat is coming directly from political power, and it is serving the interests of power. In India and around the world that is called as ‘the big lie’. It is called that because the falsehood itself is huge,” said senior journalist Sreenivasan Jain on Tuesday.  

He was speaking at ‘A Seminar on Misinformation – How it affects social justice’ which was organised by the Karnataka Media Academy (KMA) supported by the Department of Information and Publicity and Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi and held at Gandhi Bhavan. 

He stressed upon the importance of topmost leaders not getting involved in spreading big lies. “Every day there is a new jihad which is coined by the ruling regime. This comes from MPs, ministers, Chief Ministers and governors. There is no theory that is too extreme or absurd that is not being propagated at the highest level. The Prime Minister himself spearheaded one of the most divisive communal campaigns which have seen in recent history in these elections,” Mr. Jain said. 

Mr. Jain said that this cycle of fake news and falsehoods could be ended only when there are consequences for those who propagate it. “This is a political phenomenon, and it should be fought politically. Yes, the opposition is trying to say slogans, but that is not enough. Every day, the minorities are facing the brunt of prejudice. This requires the opposition to step up. They need to fight this the same way they would fight any other issue like price rise of farmers’ issue,” he elaborated. 

The seminar was attended by journalists, students from many universities and academicians. There was a panel discussion along with addresses from other prominent figures. 

Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao who inaugurated the seminar said, “Politically and socially the danger is that wrong information is creating differences between us and dividing us and giving rise to violence. Hence, the system needs to evolve, and the government should authoritatively tell people that a piece information is wrong and that it should not be believed.”