Govt to sensitise schoolkids to combat fake news

NEWDELHI: The government has put in place plans to counter the menace of fake news by educating schoolchildren about the misuse of social media besides enforcing legal provisions to fix responsibilities of popular platforms such as Whatsapp, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

The government will also use its network of common services centres (CSCS) in 250,000 gram panchayats to reach out to rural masses, considered relatively more susceptible to fake news, two officials with direct knowledge of the matter said, requesting anonymity.

The government is working on the two initiatives simultaneously so that both can be launched soon, they said.

“Making citizens aware about fake news is the best way to counter it,” said an official from the ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity) who asked not to be named.

“The idea is that children, who are tech savvy, can play a major role in that as they have significant influence in their families.”

To be sure, the new initiatives are part of an ongoing awareness campaign by Meity, which has adopted a two-pronged approach: Enforce the law to check propagation of false news through social media platforms and create awareness among people.

There have been several cases of lynching across the country that could be attributed to the spread of fake news through social media and instant messaging services such as Whatsapp. The home ministry had taken it up and issued a series of advisories.