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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2 Indians killed, 10 injured in drone attack on Oman's industrial hub of Sohar
New Delhi (PTI): Two Indian nationals were killed and 10 others injured in a drone strike in Oman's Sohar city on Friday that marked the first Indian fatalities on land since the Iran-US conflict erupted on February 28.
Joint secretary (Gulf) in the Ministry of External Affairs Aseem Mahajan confirmed the killing of the two Indians in Oman at an inter-ministerial media briefing on the crisis in West Asia.
He also said that 150,000 Indian nationals have returned to India from West Asia after the conflict began.
"I wish to share with you an incident that happened in Sohar city today. There was an attack and in this incident two Indian nationals have died," he said.
"We express our deepest condolences to their families. Of the 11 injured (in the attack), 10 are Indians. Out of them, five have been discharged after receiving treatment, and five others are receiving treatment in local hospitals," Mahajan said.
"None of them is reported to have serious injuries. Our mission is in close touch with the concerned company and local authorities and is rendering all assistance," he said.
While Mahajan did not provide specific details of the attack, the Oman News Agency (ONA) reported that two drones crashed in Sohar, with one hitting the Al Awhi Industrial Zone and claiming the lives of the two expatriate workers.
These latest casualties brought the total number of Indian fatalities in the West Asia conflict to five. While the strike in Oman marked the first deaths on land, three Indian sailors have previously been killed in attacks on merchant vessels since the conflict erupted on February 28.
In the last few days, India has ramped up its diplomatic efforts to ensure safety and security of 10 million Indian nationals living in West Asia.
India has also been making efforts to secure safe passage for over 20 Indian-flagged merchant vessels currently stationed on either side of the Strait of Hormuz.
In his remarks, Mahajan also said that 15 Indian crew members of the US-owned oil tanker Safesea Vishnu were safely evacuated to a hotel in Basra city.
The tanker came under attack near Basra in Iraq on Wednesday. An Indian crew member was killed in the attack.
Efforts were underway to transport the mortal remains of the deceased to India , he said.
Mahajan said the Indian mission in Basra is also trying to ensure safe repatriation of the 15 Indian crew members to India.
The senior official said 150,000 Indian nationals returned from West Asia.
Around 2,900 Indians returned from Qatar in Qatar Airways flights over the past few days, and 1,000 Indians who returned from Bahrain.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said 117 Indian nationals have crossed over to Armenia from Iran through land border crossings and several of them have returned to India already.
We told all sides to adopt the path of dioplomacy and dialogue to resolve it the conflict as soon as possible, he said at the briefing.
We are also talking to BRICS member states so that a consensus evolves on this issue, he said.
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