New Delhi, 31 March (HS): Stating that ‘fact check’ is important to curb ‘fake news’, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has said that the world’s most dangerous virus is fake information.
To strengthen democracy, it is important to reach the right information to each and every person. Anurag Thakur was addressing the closing ceremony of Trainee Officers of Indian Information Service Group ‘A’ at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) on Friday.
Expressing his views as the chief guest of the function, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting said that better communication plays an important role in bridging the gap between the government and the people. This instils confidence in the people towards the government and increases their participation in the decision-making process.
He said that in the era of fake news, it is the responsibility of the officers of the Indian Information Service to provide correct information to the people. Using the right information, the common man can take the right decision on any subject. Therefore, in the changing times of media and social media, the officials of the government information system have to decide that the right information reaches the public.
According to Anurag Thakur, in this era of breaking news, one word has become very popular and many consequences and side effects have also been seen. This word is ‘infodemic’. In common parlance, this can be called the ‘explosion of information’. At such a time, it is the responsibility of the IIS officers not only to disseminate information to the public but also to add value to it, so that the media disseminates that priority information.
Underlining the importance of effective communication, the Information and Broadcasting Minister said that information is a power that should be harnessed in India’s interest, strengthening democracy and striving for people’s empowerment. He said that if you inform the general public about various schemes of the government in their language, then its effect is better and lasts longer.
On this occasion Principal Director General Press Information Bureau Rajesh Malhotra, Joint Secretary Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Sanjeev Shankar, Director General IIMC Prof. (Dr.) Sanjay Dwivedi and Additional Director General Ashish Goel along with 52 trainee officers of the Indian Information Service (IIS) of the year 2018, 2019 and 2020 were also present.
Hindusthan Samachar/Vijayalakshmi / Dadhibal/Indrani Sarkar
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