A Tirukural couplet effectively teaches us how to deal with misinformation and disinformation. The couplet goes, Epporul Yaar Yaar Vaai Ketpinum Apporul Meiporul Kaanpathu Arivu (the mark of wisdom is to discern the truth from the source).
By conferring the Kottai Ameer Communal Harmony Award for the year 2024 on Mohammed Zubair, fact-checker and the co-founder of AltNews, during the 75th Republic Day celebrations, the Tamil Nadu government has reiterated the need to prevent the spread of false information. Former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had instituted the award in the name of Kottai Ameer, who fought for communal amity and fell victim to communal elements.
The award has been presented to Mr. Zubair just months after the State government set up an 80-member fact-check unit to deal with “misinformation and disinformation pertaining to the State government” emanating from “all media platforms”. In constituting the unit, the Tamil Nadu government had taken a cue from the Karnataka government and the Centre’s notification on the amendments to the Information Technology (IT) Rules of 2021, which allow the Ministry of Electronics and IT to appoint a similar fact-checking unit.
But many saw this as a retrograde step and fear that the ombudsman agency could end up infringing upon the freedom of the press and dictate news. Some political parties, too, did not approve of the move. The principal opposition party in the State, the AIADMK, filed a public interest litigation petition before the Madras High Court questioning the competence of the State government in constituting a fact-check unit. The petitioner argued that it would be a dangerous tool in the hands of the government and have a chilling effect on free speech. The matter is now sub judice.
It was against this backdrop that the government presented the award to Mr. Zubair, as if to right a wrong and send a clear message about the need for filtering fake information. Mr. Zubair, a native of Denkanikottai in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district, had launched the website Alt News in 2017 with Pratik Sinha, who, incidentally, a day after his colleague received the award, participated in a panel discussion of The Hindu Lit Fest 2024 with journalists N. Ram and Sreenivasan Jain. AltNews analyses the veracity of news shared on social media and debunks false claims and fake news. According to the Tamil Nadu government, his fact-checking mechanism prevented major violence in the State in 2023. When a video claiming that migrant workers from Bihar were being attacked in Tamil Nadu went viral on social media, Mr. Zubair published footage on his website to prove that the video was not taken in Tamil Nadu. This averted possible violence.
The other panel members felt that Mr. Sinha should also have been given the award. Mr. Jain, the co-author of the book Love Jihad And Other Fictions, pointed out during the Lit Fest the many instances of fake news that he has encountered as a journalist. For instance, a viral WhatsApp forward even claimed that there was no electricity in the fictional village in which the blockbuster movie Sholay (1975) was shot and Thakur, a Hindu character, roamed around in the dark even as the loudspeaker at the mosque came alive during the time of namaz. “This [claim was made] because the screenwriter of Sholay was Javed Akhtar, a Muslim,” he said.
The DMK government headed by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is often at the receiving end, especially on issues relating to the Hindu religion and gods, as he is perhaps the only leader in the country who relentlessly attacks the BJP government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For instance, on the day of the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, BJP leaders, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi, launched an attack on the Tamil Nadu government accusing it of not permitting temples in the State to perform pujas and rituals to mark the consecration. Mr. Stalin and Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P.K. Sekarbabu have regularly countered the BJP’s campaign through statements, public addresses, and social media messages. In Tamil Nadu, there is even talk that the Information Department is working overtime to counter “fake news” instead of focusing on highlighting the government’s “achievements”.
