The Union Minister dubbed reports as 'misleading' and 'misinformative' that said the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has been tasked to collect information which the ruling BJP is likely to use during elections.
Dismissing reports that the government is planning to hire private agencies to keep tabs on media platforms ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Minister of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Rajyavardhan Rathore urged the youth to fight the menace of fake news while calling for self-regulations by social media platforms. He said, people spreading fake news on Twitter and Facebook use offensive language against those with a different political ideology, which must be curbed.
The Union Minister dubbed reports as 'misleading' and 'misinformative' that said the Press Information Bureau (PIB) has been tasked to collect information which the ruling BJP is likely to use during elections. In a video posted on Twitter, Rathore categorically denied any such intention. He, however, admitted that a tender has been floated to give a contract to monitor information from mainstream media and social media.
Rathore said that by this method, the government is looking to collect feedback from public to understand how the various schemes and projects been working, which has been a usual practice in the PIB. He said it was merely a re-contract and similar practice has been going on.
According to PIB officials, a monitoring cell already works there to keep tab on reports appearing in print and electronic media. Off late, social media has been added to the monitor as issues are raised in various platforms.
Giving further details about the nature of the information to be collected, Rathore said, "Social media is the only thing that's new about this contract. Social media is very critical today, and therefore, the government wants to know what's happening on it. The government wants to listen to the voice of the people on public domain to see where it is lacking."
Rathore also categorically denied charges of snooping. He said, "Snooping means being privy to information that's not public.
He said, "The government wants to know what is happening on social media. It is on public domain.
IT’S AN USUAL PRACTICE
Rathore said that by this method, the government is looking to collect feedback from public to understand how the various schemes and projects have been working, which has been a usual practice in the PIB.
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