FACT Check Module: Aims, Objectives and Principles

The Government of India noted rising incidences of fake news on digital and social media platforms and set up a FACT-checking module under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to identify such fake news and take corrective action. 

Principles of FACT Check Module

The FACT check module works on the below four principles: 

• Find 
• Assess 
• Create 
• Target

FACT Check Module Implementation

The Indian information service officers will handle the government’s FACT check module. These officers are expected to trace publicly available social media posts and online news sources round-the-clock for potential fake news.

Additionally, government officers check information brought out by online influencers. Since social media influencers are not bound by standards of ethics applicable to traditional media channels, there are chances of increasing the traction of misleading information.

The team looking out for news is also expected to check stories or themes promoting misleading and false information primarily related to the government or its supported agencies. Further, if the FACT check team comes across a hint of fake news on online platforms or other places, it can decide to respond to such content.

The information will be flagged to relevant departments or ministries involved, with a recommended approach to the response. Besides reviewing content and raising the alarm over false news or misinformation, the FACT check team will bring out appropriate content to counter the fake narrative.

Currently, the FACT check mechanism focuses more on digital and online content. However, the government plans to trace fake news on electronic media soon.

FACT Check Body

The Ministry of Electronics and IT amended the Information Technology Rules, 2021, allowing it to appoint a FACT check body to determine whether online information related to the Central Government is accurate.

The final IT Rules state that an online intermediary, including social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter and internet service providers like Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea, should make reasonable efforts not to host content related to the Central Government identified as misleading or fake by the FACT check unit notified by the IT Ministry.

When a piece of information is marked as fake by the FACT check unit, intermediaries have to take down such news, failing which they would lose their safe harbour, which is legal protection from litigation against third-party content. 

Thus, social media sites must take down such posts, and internet service providers must block URLs of such content. Any person aggrieved by the action of the intermediaries, based on the news/information identified as false or fake by the FACT check unit, can appeal as per the IT Rules.

Formation of FACT Check Unit

The FACT checking unit was formed on 15 November 2019 under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to identify misinformation about government policies and schemes circulating on various social media platforms. This unit takes cognisance of fake news suo motu (on its own) or based on people’s input. It also needs to go through many hoax messages, especially those related to bank frauds and hospitals. So far, the unit has responded to 37,000 actionable queries and busted around 1,160 fake news.