Imp to differentiate between fact-checker, those who spread tension: Thakur

New Delhi: It is important to differentiate between a fact-checker and those who try to spread enmity in the garb of fact-checking, union information and broadcast minister Anurag Thakur told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

“It is important to understand who is a fact checker and who is trying to spread enmity in the society in the name of fact-checking. If a complaint is registered against them, then action is taken under the rule of law,” Thakur said in response to a question by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Kumar Jha.

Referring to last month’s arrest of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair - he was released on the Supreme Court’s orders on Wednesday - the RJD MP asked the minister to outline the procedure to deal with those who spread hatred and animosity through their commentaries. “I would like to ask the modus operandi on those who spread hatred and animosity using their commentaries where little to no action is being taken against them. Whereas action is taken on fact checkers and we have seen that recently,” Jha said.

Thakur said just like the Press Council of India (PCI) takes action against newspapers suo motu or based on complaints filed, the Union electronics and information technology (MeitY) takes action on complaints against digital platforms and the programme code is applicable for electronic media.

“Action is taken against them (those who spread enmity in the name of fact-checking) under the law and the Union ministry doesn’t meddle in that,” he added.

Zubair walked free from the Tihar Jail on Wednesday on orders of the Supreme Court which granted him bail in all first information reports (FIRs) registered against him across Uttar Pradesh for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

The journalist was first arrested last month by the Delhi Police for a tweet he had shared in 2018. He was granted bail in this case but remained behind bars due to the complaints filed against him in UP.

BJP MP Rakesh Sinha asked about the action taken against those involved in “anti-India propaganda” using fake accounts on Facebook and Twitter. “There are some implied selfish elements that are trying to finish the image of India. What are the steps taken against these people?”

Thakur, who referred to the BJP MP’s question as a crucial one, said the government has strongly acted against agencies working against the sovereignty of the country by spreading fake news and spreading propaganda on the internet. The ministry, he said, has acted against 94 YouTube channels, 19 social media accounts and 747 URLs and got them blocked under the Information Technology Act 2000.