To counter 'fake news', Narendra Modi govt amends rules to cancel press accreditation

The government has made amendments to the Guidelines for Accreditation of Journalists in order to clamp down on “fake news”, thereby suspending accreditation of journalists from the time any complaint is registered. 

Once registered, the case will be referred to the Press Council of India (PCI) for the print media and to News Broadcasters Association (NBA) in case of electronic media. “Determination is expected to be completed within 15 days by these regulating agencies. Once the complaint is registered for determination of fake news, the correspondent/journalist whoever created and/or propagated the fake news will, if accredited, have the accreditation suspended till such time the determination regarding the fake news is made by the regulating agencies mentioned above,” a government release stated. 

If found guilty, the release said, accreditation of the said journalist will be suspended for a period of 6 months in the first violation, for one year in the case of a second violation and in the event of third violation, it will be cancelled permanently. 

The release also added that while examining the requests for accreditation, the regulatory agencies will examine whether the ‘Norms of Journalistic Conduct’ and ‘Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards’ prescribed by the PCI and NBA are adhered to by the journalists.

The Press Club of India has called for an emergency meeting in this regard in their premises on Tuesday to discuss the matter.