Jaipur, 10 August 2018 — Most fake news is nothing but political misinformation, Pratik Sinha, the founder of Alt News, a website that fact-checks information in the public space, said at the Talk Journalism 2018 media conclave here. “People in power themselves are a part of the problem,” Sinha said, adding that the job of fact checking can also be dangerous because of misinformation which make up the volume of fake news in India.
What is the difference between a fact checker and a journalist?
“Fact checkers are not different from journalists. It’s just that mainstream media is neglecting them,” Jency Jacob, the managing editor of Boom, a digital platform for fact-checking information, said.
Media scholar HR Venkatesh said fact checking is as important as digital literacy.
When asked how his organisation is tackling this menace in different languages, Trushar Barot, the digital launch editor of BBC India, said fake news workshops are being conducted in India with the idea to bring stakeholders together and come up with solutions.
Great to see so many young faces for the #fakenews session at #tj2018 @journalism_talk pic.twitter.com/rsjsLs5JkN
— Trushar Barot (@Trushar) August 10, 2018
Text: Shivani Kava and Arfath Pasha | Copy edit: Shivani Kava | Photo: Arfath Pasha | Photo desk: Anu Sonia |Editorial coordination: Jyoti Mamnani
This report was filed during Live Newsroom workshop conducted by Institute of Integrated Digital Journalism and Mass Communication (IIDJM) at Talk Journalism 2018.