Anti-Fake news bill passed: Journalist propagating false news could be blacklisted, says Smriti Irani's ministry

The Information and broadcast ministry on Monday came up with new rules against the fake news and news guidelines for journalists stating that the accreditation of a journalist could be permanently cancelled if the person is found creating or propagating any kind of fake news and the journalist could be blacklisted for life.

As per the amended guidelines for the accreditation of journalists, if the publication or telecast of fake news is confirmed, the accreditation of that journalist would be suspended for a period of six months in the first violation and for one year in case of a second violation, NDTV reported.

According to reports, in a press release issued Monday evening, it said that the Press Council of India and News Broadcasters Association (NBA), the two regulatory bodies for print and television media respectively, will determine whether the news is fake or not.

The I&B minister Smriti Irani said, that both these bodies of print and television media were not regulated or operated by the government. The ministry in the statement said that the one that defined the punishment and left both the definition of fake news and the nature of the complaint open-ended.

“We have the Press Council of India for newspapers which is different from government and still self-regulatory enough to awaken its own conscience and take a decision that will bar such processes. Similarly, for television news, you have the News Broadcasters Association. I’m hopeful that such a similar body will also emerge for social media at least in the news, opinion and entertainment content,” Irani said at a recent conference in New Delhi.

Both the media bodies PCI and NBA will get 15 days to complete the determination on the complaint and if the journalist is accredited with the Press Information Bureau (PIB) and the complaint is registered against them than the person's accreditation will be suspended till the time of the determination of the complaint.

“... the accreditation shall be suspended for a period of six months in the first violation and for one year in the case of second violation, and in the event of a third violation, it would be cancelled permanently,” the statement added.

The NBA, according to information on its website, is a voluntary body of news broadcasters that “seeks to lay down and foster high standards, ethics and practices in news broadcasting, including entertaining and deciding complaints against or in respect of broadcasters in so far as these relate to the content of any broadcast”.

“Hyper commercialisation in the news industry is to blame for the advent of fake news. Issues now are that the majority of fake news comes from online operators, and this release only concerns print and TV players. Secondly, history has shown us that the government shouldn’t be involved in punishing the free press. To be the arbiter of what is an innocuous error and an intent of propagating false information is a very complex job, and the industry must find its own solution,” said Anant Goenka, executive director at the Indian Express Group.