Pro-Modi posts account for major chunk of fake news: BBC report
CHENNAI: A British Broadcasting Corporation report on fake news in the country suggests that pro-Modi political activity and fake news overlap, suggesting that the ruling party is actively and effectively peddling fake news about Prime Minister Narendra Modi across social media platforms such as Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook.
In this end-to-end research initiative conducted by gaining access to phones from a wide demographic, the BBC found that fake news stories about India’s progress, Hindu power and revival of lost Hindu glory are widely being shared without fact-checking. It has been found that by sharing such messages, people feel like they are into nation-building.
“Whilst most discussion in the media has focussed on ‘fake news’ in the West, this piece of research gives strong evidence to suggest that a serious set of problems are emerging in the rest of the world where the idea of nation-building is trumping the truth when it comes to sharing stories on social media,” said Jamie Angus, Director, BBC World Service, in a release.
Interestingly, an overview of messages shared on WhatsApp alone suggests that almost 30 per cent of messages have a nationalistic flavour. Further, it has been found that more than two thirds of the messages considered to be nationalistic are about ‘cultural preservation’.
Speaking on challenges posed by fake news at the Beyond Fake News Conference organised by the BBC in the city on Monday, actor Prakash Raj attributed this phenomenon to the BJP. “They have intermingled nationalism, religion and patriotism and so they flood posts on social media blurring historical facts to push this agenda,” Prakash Raj said, drawing parallels to other majoritarian political propaganda and schemes over the last 100 years.
While BJP spokesperson Narayan Thirupathy, who also took part in the conference, denied that it was a BJP-driven agenda, big data analytics of networks within Twitter suggests that right wing sources of fake news are closely linked in comparison to left wing sources. This allows right-wing agenda to spread more effectively, thereby reaching a bigger audience.
Despite measures being taken by Google, Twitter and Facebook to combat fake news, activists and media leaders, who took part in the conference, agreed the onus was on the consumer to verify content that he or she receives on social media. “In this forest fire of fake news, the people who are trees are also responsible for the spread,” Prakash Raj said at the conference, encouraging, journalists and students to question a piece of information before forwarding it.
The conference also included a play by Theatre Nisha, highlighting the simple yet compulsive ways misinformation is spread on social media and advertising.
courtesy : newindianexpress.com
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Virudhunagar firecracker unit blast: Toll climbs to 25, Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia announced
Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): With most bodies charred beyond recognition, identification remains difficult, police said on Monday, as the toll in the massive explosion at a fireworks unit near Kattanarpatti here rose to 25.
The Virudhunagar district administration has announced Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia to the kin of deceased.
The accident is one of the deadliest industrial disasters in the region in recent years.
"Bodies were so badly charred that we were able to identify mostly with jewellery that the victims were wearing," a police official told PTI.
He said that the families have not yet claimed the bodies due to the uncertainly in the identities.
The factory owner is absconding, he added.
The accident occurred at the Vanaja firecracker unit, owned by one Muthumanickam, which functions under the Vachakarapatti police station limits.
The unit is reportedly licensed by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), Nagpur.
Post-mortem reports have established that the 25 victims, include 22 women and three men, the police official added.
Eight workers, mostly women, are critically injured with 60 per cent burn injuries. Twelve others, including eight policemen, were injured in a second blast on Sunday evening while rescue operations were underway.
Rescue operations were severely hampered for hours, as unexploded materials continued to detonate.
A second blast at 7.20 pm, triggered as an earthmover was clearing debris, caused chaos and injured several responders, including a revenue official.
Meanwhile, sources said about 1,000 people, including the families of the victims and residents of nearby villages, are threatening a road roko, demanding the arrest of the owner of the factory.
Local eyewitnesses, including Ranganathan from the nearby Seervaikarampatti village, described hearing a massive blast that sent "thick black smoke" into the sky.
"Nothing was recognisable. We saw bodies being loaded four at a time into vehicles," he told PTI Videos.
Many of the deceased were from Seervaikarampatti village, with residents claiming that at least 20 victims belonged to their village.
Among those killed was 46-year-old Indrani, a veteran worker of 25 years.
"My mother was the sole breadwinner. My father is disabled and stays home. I have an MSc degree, but I’m working at a petrol bunk to help out, and we haven't even paid my brother's school fees yet," said Madhubala, Indrani’s daughter, while pleading for government employment assistance.
Virudhunagar Collector N O Sukhaputra confirmed that the unit was operating without permission on a rest day.
Preliminary findings suggest the blast originated in a chemical mixing shed, where nearly 40 workers were busy making crackers, a violation of safety norms that typically limit occupancy to four workers per shed.
"Had these workers followed primary safety norms, the casualties could have been minimal," a senior official stated.
Chief Minister M K Stalin has ordered a high-level probe and directed ministers to oversee relief efforts.
The tragedy follows a similar accident in Vembakottai just days earlier, which claimed four lives, intensifying calls for stricter enforcement of safety regulations in the district’s firecracker hub.
The explosion occurred at approximately 3.15 pm on Sunday. Although the fireworks industry is officially shut on Sundays, over 100 workers were reportedly engaged in production.
Later in the day, Sukhaputra said Rs 5.5 lakh ex gratia each has been finalised for the families of 25 persons killed in the explosion.
Speaking to PTI Videos, he said the ex gratia cheques are ready for immediate distribution to the legal heirs.
"Out of 25 deaths, we have finished conducting post-mortems on 22 bodies. Already we have cheques (that) are ready,” Sukhaputra said.
The announcement followed intense demands from grieving relatives for financial security and government employment.
