Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 16: Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today clarified that the police-led arrangement to take action against fake news is not targeted at any specific individuals and will not affect media freedom in any way.

It may be recalled that the Kerala government had set up an Anti Fake News Division to prevent the spread of misinformation on Coronavirus in the state. There is also a Fact Check division under the Information & Public Relation Department (IPRD) to check the facts of news and messages, especially on social media. Recently, the Chief Minister had announced that the Police would take stringent action against those indulging in creating and spreading fake news in the State.

Briefing the media, the Chief Minister said, “Fake news is not just a matter of harm or good to any individual, organization or government, we must recognize that it is a disaster that affects society as a whole. The spread of fake news endangers democracy itself. There have been instances where even the traditional media, which we consider to be experts in pursuing political goals and sometimes increasing circulation, have engaged in such activities. The government would like to keep a tab on fake news without infringing upon the rights and freedom of media. Mainstream media organisations should ensure that they won’t publish fake news.”

Ever since the Coronavirus pandemic started spreading its tentacles in the state, social media platforms were flooded with fake news and lies. The fake news related to Covid should be taken very seriously at this stage.

“This move is not targeted at any individual or organisation. It is part of our social commitment, a move to protect the lives and property of our citizens. I request all media outlets that uphold media ethics and morality to fully cooperate in this fight against fake news”, the CM added.

The objective of the anti-fake news division is to bust fake news, share authentic government information, create educational content that encourages people to be more alert and sensitive to misinformation and they work closely with the Police department to bring the culprits to book.