{"id":3356,"date":"2017-09-05T09:29:48","date_gmt":"2017-09-05T17:29:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=3356&lang=en"},"modified":"2017-09-05T09:53:35","modified_gmt":"2017-09-05T17:53:35","slug":"paid-newsfake-news-and-political-power-play-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/world\/paid-newsfake-news-and-political-power-play-in-india\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"‘Paid News\/Fake News’ and political power play in India"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
The ruling party in India – Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) – spends over $155,000 US per day in the form of full-page advertisements in newspapers and advertorials on television and radio.<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
By Daud Arif, EntreMundos contributor<\/em><\/h5>\n

Political commentators, experts and social scientists would trace the history in different ways. But for me as a young sociology scholar who was born in the latter part of 20th <\/sup>century, the first instance where actual \u2018fake news\u2019 was planted across the globe was the threat of the \u2018Y2K bug\u2019 and the news of the world coming to an end. News channels, both electronic as well as print, ran stories that the world might end as it progressed into the 21st<\/sup> century. This fear that grew out of a fake news story spread so drastically that even the United Nations called its member countries to prepare for the \u2018apocalypse\u2019 the world could face if computer systems crashed once the date moved from 1999 to 2000.<\/p>\n

The interesting part of the new practice of \u2018fake news\/paid news\u2019 that the world got exposed to, started to become a part of the political routine in the country.<\/p>\n

India follows a democratic set up with a representative form of government. Therefore, for a political party to rise in power, it is essential to generate consciousness among voters. From time to time, the political parties have deployed the mechanism of fake news and paid news for primarily three purposes: to rise to power, to retain power and to snatch power.<\/p>\n

For instance, the ruling party in India \u2013 Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) – spends over $155,000 US per day in the form of full-page advertisements in newspapers and advertorials on television and radio channels. This was revealed by an inquiry under the Right to Information Act. (Advertorials are newspaper or magazine advertisements giving information about a product in the style of an editorial or objective journalistic article.)\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Further, the political parties spend a huge amount of money to retain their power by deploying paid news. Just imagine, despite being the ruling party in the country, BJP spends such a huge amount every day. After all, elections are not a one-time thing.<\/p>\n

While West Bengal was already in flames, BJP injected fake news through social media and local newspapers that showed photoshopped images, which further accelerated the tensions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While the above two methods are no doubt unethical, the phenomenon of fake news is both unethical as well as lethal as it generates a sense of enmity as a form of public consciousness among masses either against one party or the other. For instance, there have been cases in which one political party used fake news against the other to defame it. Very recently a communal clash broke out in the State of West Bengal in India. It is essential to note that a party named Trinamool Congress (TMC) rules the state of West Bengal. While the State was already in flames because of the communal clash, BJP (The Central ruling party) injected fake news through social media and local newspapers that showed photoshopped images, which further accelerated the tensions. This resulted in drastic societal implications and a curfew was imposed in the state.<\/p>\n

The paid news\/fake news phenomenon is not limited to the subcontinent. Its traces can be found even in the most advanced country of the time, the United States of America, where Trump has accused the mainstream media of running an agenda against him at the command of his political rivals.<\/p>\n

This has become a major concern at the international level. So much so that Google-news recently launched a plugin on its news site that allows the newsreader to check the facts in the news article. While the initiative by Google is a positive step to keep a check on the paid news\/fake news phenomenon, not every newsreader is equipped with a smartphone, internet, and a Google news fact checking utility.\u00a0 At least not in India.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Daud Arif is a Mass Communication student at AJK-MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India.\u00a0He\u00a0has been associated with\u00a0various Media projects both in India and abroad and his photographs have been in exhibitions and festivals. He writes occasionally for\u00a0media portals such as the Quint,\u00a0Youth ki\u00a0Awaaz and Milli Gazette. He can be reached at\u00a0: daudarif94@gmail.com<\/a><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ruling party in India – Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) – spends over $155,000 US per day in the form of full-page advertisements in newspapers and advertorials on television and radio. By Daud Arif, EntreMundos contributor Political commentators, experts and social scientists would trace the history in different ways. But for me as a young […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3357,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[414],"tags":[987,989,988,985,984,986,990,991],"class_list":["post-3356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-advertorial","tag-bhartiya-janta-party","tag-bjp","tag-fake-news","tag-india","tag-paid-news","tag-trinamool-congress","tag-west-bengal"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/articulo-daud-arif-2.jpg?fit=4266%2C2896&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-S8","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1755,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/megaprojects\/the-gold-thats-worth-its-weight-in-water-the-marlin-mine\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3356,"position":0},"title":"The Gold That’s Worth Its Weight in Water: The Marlin Mine","author":"EntreMundos","date":"10 enero, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0By Iker Ugalde y Richard Brown - Correspondents for EntreMundos The debate over whether the Marlin mine is contaminating the water of Sipacapa and San Miguel Ixtahuac\u00e1n in San Marcos took another turn in February. The Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MPSAS), which does not usually handle water\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCommunity Action\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Community Action","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/community-action-en-2\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/mina-marlin-guatemala-1-copia.jpg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/mina-marlin-guatemala-1-copia.jpg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/mina-marlin-guatemala-1-copia.jpg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/mina-marlin-guatemala-1-copia.jpg?fit=900%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4291,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/the-fight-for-fair-textiles\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3356,"position":1},"title":"The Fight for Fair Textiles","author":"EntreMundos","date":"26 julio, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"By: Kari Lindberg Using the backstrap loom passed down from her grandmother to her mother and now to her, Carolina del Lopez sits on her dirt floor and passes wooden instruments through her weaving. She pushes and pulls her wooden batten with each new line of thread added to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/4.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/4.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/4.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/4.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/4.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/4.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized-es\/the-street-that-changed-our-minds-about-streets\/","url_meta":{"origin":3356,"position":2},"title":"The Street That Changed our Minds About Streets","author":"EntreMundos","date":"19 octubre, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Full width featured post generally considered the most beautiful post in the Caribbean, Cartagena in Colombia grew unimaginably wealthy.","rel":"","context":"En \u00abUncategorized\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Uncategorized","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/uncategorized-es\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/placeholder_image1.png?fit=1200%2C758&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/placeholder_image1.png?fit=1200%2C758&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/placeholder_image1.png?fit=1200%2C758&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/placeholder_image1.png?fit=1200%2C758&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/placeholder_image1.png?fit=1200%2C758&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4780,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/pagetwo-en\/6-great-restaurants-in-xela\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3356,"position":3},"title":"5 Great Restaurants in Xela","author":"EntreMundos","date":"8 noviembre, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Sick of street food or homestay dinners? It may seem that the options for international food are limited here, but when found it is normally good quality and priced fairly. Here are some ideas for a nice evening meal or posh lunch in Quetzaltenango that won\u2019t empty your wallet. Sabor\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFood\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Food","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/xela-guide\/food\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/sabor-de-la-india-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6365,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/environment\/forests\/summer-of-hell\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3356,"position":4},"title":"Summer of Hell","author":"EntreMundos","date":"9 marzo, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By: Andy Walsh It has been a summer of hell for much of southeast Australia, with the ongoing bushfire crisis ravaging forests, farmland and towns. Thus far, more than 180,000 square kilometres - that is almost the size of Guatemala and Panama put together - have been burned. More than\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abClimate Change\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Climate Change","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/environment\/climate-change\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/descarga.jpe","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/descarga.jpe 1x, https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/descarga.jpe 1.5x, https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/descarga.jpe 2x, https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/descarga.jpe 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2399,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/environment\/climate-change\/climate-change-in-guatemala\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3356,"position":5},"title":"Climate Change in Guatemala","author":"EntreMundos","date":"7 marzo, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By Dr. Edwin Castellanos,\u00a0Co-Director, Center for Environmental Studies and Biodiversity,\u00a0Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, and lead author, UN IPCC Fifth Assessment Report on Climate Change Climate change is without a doubt one of the biggest challenges facing humanity today. We see this in the search for agreements that will limit\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abClimate Change\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Climate Change","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/environment\/climate-change\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/huracan.jpg?fit=461%2C307&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3356"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3363,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3356\/revisions\/3363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}