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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Three company directors held in Rs 100-crore investment fraud in Kochi
Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.
The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.
The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.
Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.
ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.
When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.
Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.
Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.
The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.
The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.
Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.
The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.
Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.
