Fake news is a threat to democracy: Columnist D Umapathi
Shivamogga : Press Day-2018
Shivamogga, July 1: Senior columnist D Umapathi said that the fake news being created and circulated through social media by the war rooms of political parties and unprofessional became a threat to the democracy in India where more than 30 crore people have been using Whatsapp.
Speaking at Press Day -2018 programme organized by Karnataka Media Academy, Information department and Sahyadri College Journalism Department at Zilla Panchayat hall here on Sunday, Umapathi said that social media like Facebook, Google, Twitter and WhatsApp do not know what it news. But they were making huge money just by becoming the vehicles to pass on the fake news.
“Fake news is a poisonous weed came with the development of internet. In recent years, it has reached all walks of life. There is a certain section of people who engaged in creating and circulating the fake news which sans logical and realistic base. Without knowing the reality and reliability, the users of social media blindly believe such fake news as true. Unfortunately, those who are at the helm of affairs and in important positions have been following such fake news for their gains. No doubt that it will have its tentacles on the elections in future and it will become a big threat to the democracy”, he said giving some instances on how this social media impacted the USA election and other countries.
Compared to the readers who read newspapers, the number of fake news readers is more in India. Interestingly, the internet data users have been consuming 1.3 billion GB data in 2017 in the country because of the fake news websites. Unfortunately, some main stream electronic media have also been telecasting such fake news without checking their reliability. More than 30 crore people have been using WhatsApp in the country and among them, the number of people accepting such fake news is more than questioning the authenticity. The rural users of social media would not think whether such news are genuine or not, but believe them. Such fake news are based on emotional issues than logic and reality. There were major issues like unemployment, education, agriculture sector problem and others. But the fake news was consuming the space. It has been killing the thinking process of the people and creating superiority and inferiority complex among readers. This false propaganda has entered each and every house. Because of this reason, the mainstream media has been losing its credibility, he said.
“Nowadays, the Indian media is sinking because of various reasons. Instead of polarization of news, out mainstream media is giving more importance to ‘feel-good-factor’ news. This is the main reason for declining in reliability. Instead of questioning the ruling parties, the mainstream media have joined hands with the governments and attacking those who question and oppose the governments and their policies which is really a distortion”, he opined.
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Brahmavar: Four arrested in Kotathattu murder case
Brahmavar: Police have arrested four persons in connection with the murder of a 30-year-old man following a quarrel after a drinking party at Kotathattu Padukere in Brahmavar taluk.
The deceased has been identified as Santhosh Mogaveera, a resident of Padukere. The arrested accused are Darshan (21) of Parampalli Padukere, Kaushik (21) of Neeradi Jeddu, Sasthan Pandeshwar, and Ankit (19) and Sujan (21), both residents of Kotathattu Padukere. All four have been produced before the court.
According to the police, the incident occurred on the evening of December 14. Santhosh, along with Sachin, Chethan, Kaushik, Sujan and Darshan, had gone to a bar and later came to the Padukere Circle, where they had food and were conversing. During this time, an argument broke out between the groups over issues related to Santhosh’s family and alcohol consumption. The verbal altercation escalated, with the accused allegedly abusing Santhosh and assaulting him together.
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It is alleged that during the scuffle, Darshan struck Santhosh forcefully on the back of his neck with his hand, while Kaushik also assaulted him. Though others attempted to intervene and stop the fight, Santhosh collapsed at the spot.
He was later rushed to a private hospital in Brahmavar, where doctors declared him brought dead. A case has been registered at Kota Police Station in this regard.
Brahmavar Circle Inspector Gopikrishna, Kota Sub-Inspector Praveen Kumar T and Station SI Mantesh Jabha Gowda visited the spot and conducted an inspection. Further investigation is underway.
