Media and news are essential to strengthening democracy by providing the people with correct information. However, in India, the opposite is happening, hollowing out its roots. An investigation by CNA recently unearthed shocking facts, posing a serious threat to Indian democracy—it revealed details of the largest network of 745 fake media outlets operating in 119 countries. The revealed scope of the disinformation campaign represents a substantial risk to the potential deterioration of India’s reputation on an international level.
The influence of global opinion threatens the country’s well-being, diplomatic, and economic benefits. India is concerned about a more serious issue, as it ranks second in the world in disinformation content, with 26% of the global fakes produced on its soil. The disinformation crisis is damaging not only to India’s international engagements but also to social cohesion and democratic values. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is responsible for all these 550 different domains, which solely propagate fake news and manipulate public opinion for their own gain.
This serves as a prime illustration of how media can effectively normalize far-right discourse. The motive behind all of this is to cover up flaws in governance through nationalism and propaganda. Through a nexus with media outlets, they undermine all of the opponents in the country and disseminate information globally to advance political objectives. Research reveals that thousands of content writers disseminate fake news. This means that the BJP is involved in spreading false information. The BJP pays these recruited freelancers to disseminate fake news, disinformation, and deceitful content, thereby complicating the access to true and accurate information.
Fake news has become a significant problem in India. One scary example is the kidnapping of five kids that turned out to be based on fake information. Imagine the anguish and fear that engulfed families upon learning of their children’s disappearance. These kinds of things disturb the peace and put a lot of pressure on law enforcement to find threats that do not exist. The rapid spread of false information on social media sites worsens things, which has real-world consequences.
News has a significant impact on people’s perceptions; it influences their decisions by setting priorities. However, it also serves to increase religious polarization. The media’s headlines and reporting may promote negative tensions between different religious sects. During communal hatred outbreaks, reporting agencies cannot help but foster separate conflicts; it brings current tensions to the forefront. In addition, once the media deploys a polarizing turn, it cannot help but create the illusion that religious tolerance is impossible.
Taken together, the platforms change how people communicate and allow disinformation to flourish. WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption fosters faux and misleading content to go viral. For instance, WhatsApp made false videos available following the Wakeley church case in Sydney, which preempted corrective news reports and appropriated more assaults. To facilitate democratic debate, Facebook and Twitter must harness inventive techniques to stop online disinformation. Thus, there is a continuous demand for the platforms to collaborate on the issue.
Democracy functions best when citizens are well-informed. The media is vital because it offers credible data, keeps leaders responsible, and enables people to engage with one another. However, disseminating false news and the rise of far-right ideology are detrimental to democratic standards. To prevent this, news sources must prioritize truth, ethics, and fair reporting. When the media is responsible, it casts a light on society, bringing people together, understanding one another, and making educated decisions.
While the media’s commitment to truthfully and authentically disseminating information, monitoring power, and supporting intelligent public discussions is requisite for a functioning democracy, in India, the far-right seems apt to co-opt as many media outlets as possible to legitimize their patterns of divisive speech. Democrats are required to be both vigilant and organized with other media outlets in an effort to resist far-right infiltration of the media landscape. They treat far-right media outlets as an integral part of the larger media system. Despite its shortcomings, we expect the media to uphold its independence from the nation’s ruling party. Additionally, the media must ensure that an informed populace is the supreme result.