Telangana government launches fact check website to fight fake news
The site is expected to fight misinformation during the ongoing Covid crisis
Hyderabad: In a bid to confront the rising tide of fake news, the state government on Thursday launched a dedicated website (https://factcheck.telangana.gov.in), hoping that it will prove vital in the fight against fake news regarding the Coronavirus (Covid-19).
The state government has already invoked the provisions of Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and notified Telangana Epidemic Diseases (COVID-19) Regulations, 2020, framed under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.
Disseminating information on social media platforms without ascertaining the facts and obtaining prior clearance from competent authorities is deemed a punishable offence under the said Act and Regulations.
The Supreme Court took serious note of the panic created by fake news, but it stopped short of government censorship of news as asked for by the centre.
Chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao in his recent briefing on the Coronavirus lockdown also warned that stern action would be taken against anyone disseminating fake news, misinformation, and rumours.
To this effect, ITE&C Dept. of Telangana Government in partnership with Factly Media & Research has developed a dedicated web portal ‘https://factcheck.telangana.gov.in’. It is aimed at dispelling fake news and misinformation campaigns on social media platforms and providing facts and context wherever applicable.
The website hosts articles on widely circulated posts on Coronavirus on social media platforms and verifies the claims made therein. Further, citizens can submit a post being circulated on social media for fact checking by the ITE&C Dept.
The ITE&C Dept. will release a bulletin at regular intervals with a listing of posts spreading fake news, misinformation and rumours and give the facts with respect to the information in question.