- Friday, April 25, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
The Editors Guild of India, a non-profit organisation of journalists, has expressed a deep concern over the Indian government’s move to monitor news on social media through a self-appointed fact-checking unit, saying the new rules were draconian and akin to censorship, Reuters reported.
On Thursday (6), the Narendra Modi government announced that it will appoint the fact-checking unit to identify fake, false or misleading information, but the Editors Guild of India has questioned the governing mechanism — its sweeping powers in determining which is fake news and the right to appeal in such instances.
Amendments to India’s information technology (IT) rules makes it compulsory for platforms “not to publish, share or host fake, false or misleading information” about the government, the report added.
Modi’s government has been in repeated conflicts with a number of social media platforms when they failed to meet demands that certain content or accounts be removed for allegedly spreading misinformation.
The guild said in a statement, “All this is against principles of natural justice, and akin to censorship,” according to the Reuters report.
“The ministry’s notification of such draconian rules is therefore regrettable. The guild again urges the ministry to withdraw this notification and conduct consultations with media organisations and press bodies.”
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, India’s minister of state for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar ruled out concerns that the amendments would lead to censorship saying the fact checks will be done in a credible way.
India’s Internet Freedom Foundation said undefined terms such as “fake”, “false” and “misleading” in the amendment make them susceptible to misuse by authorities, the Reuters report added.
