Fake news can weaken democracy: Academicians

Editors and academicians participating in a workshop on "fake news" in New Delhi today said a mechanism should be developed to curb the menace or it would weaken the democracy.

The workshop was organised at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication by RSS-affiliated weekly 'Panchjanya'.

The weekly's editor Hitesh Shankar said that everyone in the media has the responsibility to investigate fake news.

"I think there is an urgent need to develop a mechanism to check the menace of fake news otherwise it can weaken the democracy," Shankar said.

Giving a presentation on fake news, director of Jammu Kashmir Study Centre Abha Khanna said a section of the media is building a narrative not favourable for the nation.

 

The workshop was attended by IIMC Director K G Suresh and National Union of Journalists General-Secretary Manoj Verma.