Srinagar, May 18, KDC: Deputing of under-age individuals as reporters and proliferation of unregistered news portals across Kashmir, with other activities paling in comparison to standard journalism have brought disrepute to the profession.
Netizens on social media have been often seen pointing out the shortcomings in the work of the individuals, who present themselves as journalists despite having no knowledge of the profession and its ethics.
The mushrooming of online news portals, with most of them functioning by flouting set rules and regulations, has been the primary cause behind placing of under-age and school-going individuals on ground as journalists.
The government often stops the internet during encounters between militants and security forces in order to maintain law and order by preventing people from circulating any fake news, which mostly are seen to be carried by portals without fact-checking.
“Social media in Kashmir is mostly unchecked, with no myth busting mechanisms in place. With millions of users posting stuff daily on social media coupled with fake news spread by news portals, it becomes difficult to regulate the content, said a media research scholar.
There are a myriad of fake news incidents which took place in Kashmir. “One of the biggest fake news that echoed the chambers of Kashmir was the rumour of the death of an infant due to polio vaccination. In panic, “thousands of children who were administered pulse polio drops were rushed to hospitals across Kashmir by their parents. The rush of anxious parents with their infants choked every road that led to medical facilities in Kashmir. Authorities were caught unawares by the swelling of hospitals and roads by people. At some places people vandalized hospital furniture and equipment and beat doctors in anger. The unprecedented number of people rushing for hospitals was unmanageable for the administration. Police had to take swift action and arrest the person responsible for posting the fake news of an infant’s death due to polio vaccine,” reads a research paper by Kashmir University.
In another incident when police officer Ayub Pandith was killed in Downtown Srinagar during Shab-e-Qadr’s night, a fake news was spread on social media that the officer was killed for his surname “Pandith”, which, however, was not the case, it added.
In 2017 and 2018, when the Power Development Department distributed free LED bulbs under Ujala scheme to every household in Kashmir, this move was attributed to government forces’ plan to keep vigil on militant activities across Kashmir with the help of spy cameras fitted inside the bulbs. This rumour was widely carried on social media by news portals, causing panic among people.
Another fake news, which made rounds on social media in 2018, that Former Pakistani cricketer, Shahid Afridi, was scheduled to address people of Kashmir in Srinagar, forcing police to shut internet to prevent the dissemination of the message, which was also a rumour blithely accommodated by news portals.
Rumours also created a fleeting “connection” between Kashmir and Afghanistan last year when the Kashmir Police had to refute rumours rife on social media that 60 Kashmiri youth have gone missing amid the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Recently, police also arrested three so-called journalists in Kupwara for extorting money from a street vendor and blackmailing him. As per police, the vendor was demanded ₹ 20,000 cash by the accused persons, who were affiliated with local news portal(s).
Pertinently, the Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh High Court had sought response from the government after a plea was filed by the General Secretary of People’s Forum M. M. Shuja through counsel Shafqat Nazir against the mushrooming of news portals on social media especially the news portals involved in circulating fake news. “Several news portals like Kashmir News, Kashmir Voice, Kashmir Breaking News, News Kashmir 24/7, Kashmir Business Hub and Bol Kashmir etc are operating freely without any registration or license from any authority and these news portals are not under supervision and control of any authority whatsoever,” reads the litigation filed by Shuja.
An official from Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) told news agency Kashmir Dot Com that for running a news portal, it must have a No-objection Certificate (NoC) from concerned District Magistrate and NoCs from Information Department and Department of Labour and Employment. “These three things are prerequisite for starting a news portal besides other formalities,” the official said.
Despite the scourge being afflicted on the journalistic practice by the unregistered news portals and self-styled journalists in Kashmir, DIPR and other concerned departments remain from taking any action to prevent further disgrace to the coveted profession. (KDC)
