Half-truth: Dangerous than the Pandemic itself

^{This article was written by Ankita Sharma, a student of Faculty of Law, University of Delhi}

When the whole world is fighting against coronavirus (COVID-19), social media is at its peak in circulating false information related to the diseases. This false information gets further amplified when it is picked up by the gratuitous sections of mass media.

Fake news is referred to the misinformation, fabrication, bending of the truth or mal-information, which spreads through local communication or traditional media and more recently through digital communication in the form of videos, memes and various unverified sources spreading rumours all across the country. Fake news spreads on social media like a fire which is a serious problem to be tackled.

Increased use of the internet adds to the damage posed by the fake news on social media. There are millions of users on WhatsApp, this is one of the major platforms where fake news spreads. The biggest hurdle is that receivers believe on WhatsApp forwards blindly and they pass on this information to others without cross-verification. This shows the lack of awareness amongst the population.

The spread of fake news has caused instability in the economic and political sector. These rumours also cause a state of panic amongst people. The law enforcement agents have the power to take the situation in hand and take actions against those who spread such news. Currently, there is no particular provision to tackle this problem and punish the culprits.

India, Philippines and Myanmar started regulating online content after misinformation started causing instability in the society. The support of the government is required to curb this unrest in society. They advocate for free speech and open internet. For example, Mark Zuckerberg talked about the coronavirus outbreak earlier this month. He stated that Facebook is committed to removing conspiracy theories and false claims.

The Government of Singapore is deliberating on creating a law that will target fake news in encrypted applications like WhatsApp. Tech firms cannot read messages although the law covers social media platforms. The new law allows state ministers to determine fake news and instruct social media sites to remove misinformation that threatens the integrity of elections, the public’s view of the government and security threats.

However, there are some existing laws on this in India.

Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005: It states the Punishment for the false warning – “Whoever makes or circulates a false alarm or warning as to disaster or its severity or magnitude, leading to panic, shall on conviction, be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one year or with fine.”

Section 505(1) of Indian Penal Code, 1860: The punishment for making, publishing or circulating any statement, rumour or report which may cause fear or alarm to the public, or any section of the public.

Punishment: Imprisonment which may extend to 3 years or fine or both.

Section 66D of the Information Technology Act: Whoever, by means for any communication device or computer resource, cheats by personating.

Punishment: Imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to one lakh rupees.

Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act,2005: Whoever makes or circulates a false alarm or warning as to disaster or its severity or magnitude, leading to panic.

Punishment: Imprisonment which may extend to one year or with a fine.

In this serious situation, people need to act reasonably, it is important to stay calm and be vigilant. They should be aware of the implications of creating, sending and forwarding fake messages, serious action can be taken against them. One should refrain from spreading false information in the age of infodemic which the World Health Organization defines as – a plethora of information—some accurate and some not—that makes difficult for the people to gather the correct information in hard times.

To make stringent laws on fake news India should keep a balance between the authenticity of the news and the freedom of speech and press. The motive is not to put restrictions on Freedom of speech and Press rather make the citizens of the country aware.

The following measures can be taken:

• One should ascertain the source and authenticity of the information.
• If claims have been made in the message, one should check that on goggle before forwarding it.
• In case of videos or pictures, one should check from google the authentic source as these videos or pictures might be edited. So, one should check the context of the information.
• One should do the fact-checking before forwarding any information, there are various fact-checking websites, one should always look for the twitter handle of officials to get the proper information.
• Government of India has also started an initiative, to curb the menace of fake news, along with Press Information Bureau of India under the name of PIB Fact Check. PIB has started Social Media handles with this (PIB Fact Check) name on all the social media websites to verify the authenticity of viral news contents. It has also issued a WhatsApp No. and an email address in the same name where citizens can forward any news content, pertaining to the central government, that they might have come across on social media to verify its authenticity.

These are some simple steps to curb this problem of fake news or disinformation from spreading and to stop the panic situation in society. The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology on 20th March 2020 issued an advisory to curb false news/misinformation on coronavirus to all the social media platforms (intermediaries u/s 2(1)(w) of Information Technology Act, 2000). This directive advised them to work with due diligence and take immediate action to disable or remove such content hosted on their platforms. The directive also states to initiate vigilance campaigns for not to circulate the false or misinformation.

The recent initiative of WhatsApp’s launching of a ‘Coronavirus Information Hub’ in partnership with International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is one such appreciable move.

The state and its enforcement gears should work hard on this, to make the citizens aware and to safeguard them from any kind of misinformation. There should be continuous detection of the information and source should be traced and be punished. Media and press should create awareness and literate society about the blunder of misinformation.