Issue

Large scale misinformation and disinformation are today global phenomena affecting societies of all socio-political characteristics. Reports suggest India has been the most affected country in recent times, where fake news has engendered hate crime and social unrest. Susceptibility to information manipulation has debilitating negative impacts on public beliefs about health, science, and intercultural understanding too. The rapid growth of access to the Internet and usage of social media platforms combined with diminishing trust in legacy media has increased the avenues and scope for those interested to propagate fake information and spread baseless narratives. Neither state regulation nor censorship and other measures by social media platforms have been successful in preventing online propagation of lies. In particular, these strategies fail when an authority in power decides to spread disinformation. Therefore, a sustainable solution ought to be to strengthen individual capacity among citizens to reason and distinguish truth from fiction.