Government's Battle Against Fake News: An Uphill Climb

The government's Fact Check Unit identified 1,575 fake news stories from 2022 to March 19, 2023. Established under the Press Information Bureau in 2019, the unit aims to counter misinformation related to the government. It handles thousands of queries annually, identifying hundreds of fake stories.

The government's Fact Check Unit, designed to combat misinformation, revealed that it has identified 1,575 fake news stories from 2022 to March 19, 2023. The unit is part of the Press Information Bureau's efforts to ensure accurate information dissemination concerning government affairs.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared these insights in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. According to his statement, the fact-checking initiative has dealt with tens of thousands of information queries, many of which were actionable and thus resolved accordingly.

Since its inception in November 2019, the unit has been actively filtering out misinformation, with queries peaking in 2022. As of March 19 this year, it managed an additional measure of queries, ensuring transparency and truth in public discourse.

(With inputs from agencies.)