Schools in Kerala's Kannur are teaching children to spot fake news
Kannur : Fake news has become a commonplace in our society today. From family WhatsApp groups to Facebook and Twitter, you will come across a lot of fake news stories which often tend to go viral.
Kerala schools are now teaching students how to spot hoaxes on the internet.
Misinformation and fake news on the internet have lead to an increase in the number of violence-related incidents across the country. Alarmed by such incidents, the government of India has issued repeated warnings to WhatsApp over the past few months asking the messaging App to control the circulation of irresponsible messages in large volumes.
Union minister of law & justice and electronics and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad recently held a meeting with WhatsApp CEO Chris Daniels during which Prasad asked Daniels to work on a technical solution to track the origin of false information.
WhatsApp has been trying to do its best as far as educating users about spotting fake news is concerned. Taking a cue from the messaging app, Kerala is working in the same direction. According to the BBC, schools in Kerala are teaching students to stop believing everything they see and read on the internet, especially the information that comes through WhatsApp messages.
According to the BBC, officials in Kannur are organising special 'Fake News Classes' for school children so that students can learn how to make a difference between what's true and what's a hoax. The classes, which are held both in English and Malayalam are around 40 minutes long. So far, 150 out of 600 government schools in Kannur are holding these classes.
During the classes, students are shown slides to teach them how to spot fake WhatsApp messages. Students are also being advised to cross-check whatever they receive on WhatsApp. They are also being told that they should not trust every warning about natural disasters on WhatsApp.
Last year, parents of more than 2.4 lakh children in Kannur district had refused to get their children vaccinated after a fake message, which claimed that vaccines were harmful to kids had gone viral. This led the district administration to think of ways to make the people aware about the menace of fake news.
The administration decided to teach children about fake news as many of their parents seemed to believe everything they received on the phone was true. "It is basically a training program for students to inculcate certain characteristics in them, to impart certain values in them. We want to encourage them to be more sceptic about the kind of information which is available on the internet and how to differentiate between what is true, what is false", the Logical Indian quoted Mir Mohammad Ali, a senior district official as saying.
The Fake news classes are a part of the 'Satyamev Jayate' programme being run by the administration in Kunnur. Under the programme, high school students are taught ways to spot fake news with the help of relatable examples and they are also guided about clickbait articles.
courtesy : ibtimes.co.in
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
