The government’s fact-checking unit does not censor journalism. IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar stated on Friday that the Centre’s forthcoming unit to fact-check government-related content on social media has nothing to do with “censoring journalism” and will have no effect on reporting.
During an online discussion, he stated that it was “not true” that the government-appointed unit, which advocates for press freedom, opposed vehemently, and intended to “censor journalism.”
‘Fact-Checking’ amended IT Rules:
Join this Space with IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar @Rajeev_GoI at 7:00 pm IST on 14 April.
Minister will:
Explain Amendments on Fact-Checking;
Take Questions on all Amendments.
Join this Townhall; set a reminder.https://t.co/whfehbQtfI— Kanchan Gupta 🇮🇳 (@KanchanGupta) April 13, 2023
The Deccan Era had previously reported that the fact check unit proposed in the Information Technology Rules, 2021 is likely to consist of four individuals: a representative from the IT Ministry and one from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, a “media expert” and a “legal expert.”
Nodal officers from other ministries will also support the unit, a government official previously informed this publication.
Last week, the IT Ministry notified amendments to the Information Technology Rules, 2021, creating a regulatory framework for the fact-checking body and permitting it to label as “fake” or “misleading” government-related content on online platforms. Online intermediaries will be required to remove content marked as such by the organisation if they wish to maintain their “safe harbour” or legal immunity against third-party content.
Congress and a number of other Opposition parties, including the TMC, RJD, and CPI(M), have criticised the government’s decision on the basis of these rules. As well as digital rights activists and press associations such as the Editors Guild of India, who characterised the rules as draconian and demanded that they be rescinded.
During the discussion on Friday, in response to a question about the unit’s independence, Chandrasekhar stated that it was in the “best interests” of the fact-checking unit to acquire credibility with social media platforms.
