Society must raise its voice against fake news: CM Siddaramaiah
2 min read
Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah felt that unchecked fake news will spoil the society, making it difficult for everybody to live in peace.
Speaking at the inauguration of Press Day and the award ceremony organised by Mysuru District Journalists Association (MDJA) at Rani Bahadur Hall, Manasagangotri, Mysuru, he emphasised on the importance of safeguarding social harmony by curbing the spread of misinformation.
Highlighting the significance of freedom of speech in the Constitution, the Chief Minister called it as one of the highest values bestowed upon citizens. Any threat to three pillars of democracy—Legislature, Executive and Judiciary—poses a serious danger to the well-being of society.
Referring to the views of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, he added that the Freedom of the Press should not be subjected to undue restrictions.
Citing his own experience to illustrate the perils of fake news, Siddaramaiah recalled a manipulated social media clip where his words were misrepresented.
“During a speech in the Assembly, I had quoted former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who had said, ‘Do we have a currency printing machine for the loan waiver scheme?’ However, the clip was edited to make it seem as though I had made the statement, which was entirely false. This spread of misinformation was regarding the guarantee schemes. While I was not personally affected, the society bore the brunt of fabricated news,” he remarked.
Penalty for fake news
The Chief Minister underscored the need for strict laws to address the creation and dissemination of fake news, though he acknowledged that legislation alone would not be suffice to deal with it.
He urged the society at large to collectively raise its voice against this harmful practice.
District In-charge Minister Dr H C Mahadevappa, Chief Minister’s Media Advisor K V Prabhakar, Prajavani Editor Ravindra Bhat, Guarantee Implementation Monitoring Committee Vice-Chairperson Pushpa Amarnath and MLAs D Ravishankar and Tanveer Sait, News First CEO Ravikumar and others were present.
President of Mysuru District Journalists’ Association, K Deepak and General Secretary Dharmapura Narayana and City Vice-president Ravi Pandavapura were also present.
– Team Mysoorunews
Mysooru News
