No manipulated news on Ram Temple: Govt advisory
New Delhi, January 20
The government has issued an advisory to media outlets and social media platforms, urging caution and refrain from disseminating false or manipulated content related to the consecration of Ram Temple on January 22.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting stated that newspapers, private satellite TV channels and digital media publishers in news and current affairs’ domain should “exercise restraint and caution”. They should refrain from publishing or telecasting any content that may be false, manipulated or had the potential to disturb communal harmony or public order in the country, it said.
The ministry highlighted the potential for certain unverified, provocative and fake messages circulating, especially on social media, which could pose a threat to communal harmony and public order in the country.
The advisory cites the provisions of the Programme Code under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995. The code prohibits the broadcast of any programme containing attacks on religions or communities, visuals or words contemptuous of religious groups, or anything that promotes communal attitudes. It also prohibits content that is obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false, and suggestive innuendos likely to incite violence or goes against the maintenance of law and order.
Additionally, the advisory draws attention to the norms of Journalistic Conduct laid down by the Press Council of India under the Press Council Act, 1978, which are also referenced in the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. These norms emphasise the responsibility of the press to avoid publishing inaccurate, baseless, graceless, misleading, or distorted material.
As per these norms, newspapers are duty-bound to ensure that the tone, spirit, and language of any content are not objectionable, provocative, against the unity and integrity of the country, seditious, or designed to promote communal disharmony.
