Social media can be 'weapon' for good governance: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called social media a powerful instrument of democracy and said he is in favour of using the platform as a "weapon" for good governance.

"I believe social media has become a powerful instrument of democracy," Modi said in response to a question at a Q & A session after his address to the Bloomberg Global Business Forum here.

"As a leader, I am in favour of using social media as a weapon for good governance, and aim to use it for that purpose, " he said.

Modi said that it is unfortunate that the platform is being used to propagate negative things in an organised manner, albeit added he found it encouraging that the established media is taking up initiatives to bust fake news.

The Prime Minister's remarks came during an interaction with Michael Bloomberg.

Modi said that people should first check when receive any news on social media before forwarding it to others. The fashion of forwarding without verification should have a technological solution, he said.

The Prime Minister also referred to media coverage during the 1999 plane hijack in Kandahar and how the media, especially electronic and media which was very young and new had sensationalised stories and played into the hands of the terrorists. However, he said after that incident the media had analysed themselves.