Date: 05/11/2022

Relevance: GS-3: Role of Media and Social Networking Sites in Internal Security Challenges

Key Phrases: The Wire, social media company Meta, “XCheck” or “Cross Check” program, The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the Press Council of India, Norms of journalist conduct.

Why in News?

• The news website The Wire and social media company Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, have been embroiled in a dispute about the credibility of a Wire report that claimed that Instagram gave a political leader of the ruling party special privilege when it came to having posts on the social media platform removed.

What is the issue?

• The Wire published a report about a political leader who has special privileges on Instagram.
• The posts of the political leader in question would not be subject to the same takedown policies as other users.
• In the social media world, a “takedown” refers to having a post, user, or post removed from a platform if they violate the firm’s terms of service.
• The Wire claimed that the political leader was a part of an “XCheck” or “Cross Check” program by Meta.

• Meta called The Wire's reporting inaccurate and based on documents it believed were "fabricated."
• At the end The Wire issued an apology to its readers admitting poor verification of “complex technical evidence” and “taken moral responsibility for the omission”.

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021:

• Code of Ethics: For publishers of news and current affairs, the following existing codes will apply:
  1. Norms of journalistic conduct formulated by the Press Council of India, and
  2. Program code under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995.
• Grievance redressal:
  • Any person aggrieved by the content of a publisher may file a complaint with the publisher, who must address it within 15 days.
  • If the person is not satisfied with the resolution, or the complaint is not addressed within the specified time, the person may escalate the complaint to the association of publishers, who must also address the complaint within 15 days.
  • The complaint will be considered by an inter-departmental committee constituted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting if:
    1. Escalated by the complainant or the association under certain conditions, or
    2. Referred by the Ministry itself.

Norms of journalist conduct:

• The fundamental objective of journalism is to serve the people with news, views, comments, and information on matters of public interest in a fair, accurate, unbiased, sober, and decent manner.
• To this end, the Press is expected to conduct itself in keeping with certain norms of professionalism, universally recognized.
• The Press Council of India (PCI) has updated and revised the Norms of Journalistic Conduct, 2020.
• It addresses the Five Core Principles of Journalism - Truth and Accuracy; Independence; Fairness and Impartiality, and Humanity and Accountability.

Norms regarding accuracy and fairness:

1. The Press shall abstain from the publication of inaccurate, baseless, graceless, misleading, or distorted material. All sides of the core issue or subject should be reported. Unjustified rumours and surmises should not be set forth as facts.
2. It is incumbent for newspapers to play a positive role in response to rumours affecting the credibility of financial institutions having a public interface.
3. While it is the duty of the press to expose the wrongdoings that come to their notice, such reports need to be backed by irrefutable facts and evidence.
4. Newspapers should bear in mind that their duty is to collect the news and place it in perspective but not to create news.
5. Whenever any news is published on the basis of an FIR and is critical of the reputation of any person or body, the newspaper/journals must clearly state in the same news report that the report was only on the basis of the FIR and that veracity of the version of the FIR has got to be decided by the Court. The newspaper should also publish the version of the affected party.
6. The newspaper should not misconstrue or misquote the statements given by the leader. The statements quoted in the editorial should project the true spirit of what is being tried to be conveyed by them.
7. Articles that analyse and interpret history on the basis of contemporaneous events cannot be said to be unethical.
8. When a newspaper is following a story on a person and carries a series of reports on the issue associated with him, it ought to publish the news of his exoneration with the same prominence as that of a series of previous reports.
9. The newspaper is liable for the damaging effects of publishing alarming/sensational headings of news stories based on the Study having no established credentials.

Conclusion:

• The media is critical to the country's governance and overall growth. The same has been emphasized on several occasions in the past whether it be the Emergency era of 1975 or today’s era of widespread protest of Farmer, CAA-NRC, etc.
• Numerous media outlets are doing admirable work by disseminating true and reliable facts to the populace.
• On the other hand, it has been repeatedly highlighted that many media outlets do not prioritize verifying information first and instead prioritize delivering it as quickly as possible for their breaking news and commercial advertisements in gaining TRP.
• The media outlets should acknowledge the perils of the interplay between editorial laxity and confirmation bias in assessing a potential story.
• They should follow the norms of journalistic conduct and consider the freedom of the press not an end in itself but a means to the end of achieving a free society.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. The freedom of the press is a sacrosanct constitutional right, but this freedom comes with an enormous responsibility that must be borne by every individual who is part of the journalistic enterprise. Discuss.