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Media Rumble: The Menace of False News
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Kiran Joshua
3:39
That concludes the session. Thank you for being with us.
3:38
Viji says that one can creates fictional news about fictional news. He adds that these are more fictional than false news.
Ethiraj responds " In Europe, fake news problems are largely concerned with refugees. On Germany for instance, fake stories about refugees attacking a shop. In India it would be about other vested interests - a cow could be skinned in it. Turns out, the video wasn’t even shot in India.
Can't say if monetary incentive is the only reason.
3:35
Sekhri asks Ethiraj if monetary incentive is the major reason for false news.
3:33
Ethiraj comments, "Let's say, us sitting in a room - what Jaggi says makes sense. But when Google and Facebook are worried about the efficacy of their platforms because of how it translates into the trustworthiness of their platforms."
3:32
Shivam Vij talks about Journalism and touches upon the increase of fake news in the below video.  
3:31
Jagannathan adds "If tomorrow people start thinking that whatever you get out of Google or Facebook, advertisers start cutting back. What's happening now is that social media is saying that we need to work with organisation that is certified. Fact checking organizations."
3:30
Sekhri goes on to talking about how trump's "grab a pussy" statement, which influences and provokes people.
3:29
Sekhri challenges this by stating that this is a grey area; not black and white.
3:28
Jagannathan says, "I don't think you can institutionalize the approaches. We need many sites for fact checking. What we are looking at is minimal. Fake news is not restricted to a certain area and it focuses on many areas. Unless you see data, unless you are able to mind the data, you need to do something more. News is not fully fake or fully true."
3:27
Sekhar adds how news professionals have to be a part of this solution.
3:26
Sekhri interjects with a fact that, 25 investors from around the world got together and that it is a 14 million dollar fund aimed at bringing back integrity to news.
3:25
Vij goes on to say that the 'new fiction writers' of India are sitting in offices and making fake news. He also touches upon how political parties are driving this people to create fake news.
3:22
He continues that social media's credibility is going down as people are calling everything that they don't want to believe as fake news.
3:21
Vij adds"Whatsapp is the new India, it is used in almost every part of India including rural areas. It has become a platform to spread hatred among people using images and videos."
3:19
Sekhri directs a question towards Vij "How has this new evolution of false news correcting has effected your work?"
"We are a very small team and would never write any pro party work.", he says.
3:18
So when we started it in September 2006, realized we needed such a website. Fake news I can sit on my desk and work on as and when I can."
3:17
3:15
Ethiraj then adds,"The skills you require to go after fake news are different. One needs to examine if it's pushed advertently or inadvertently and how it is pushed."
3:14
Ethiraj says "Many of our reports on FactChecker takes a month or two. Boom is something we realigned two or three months ago. Fake news is not dealing with public figures, but people who share 'WhatsApp' forwards, a bored techie who morphs a photo, a family member who shares incorrect 'Vitamin-A' benefits etc."
3:12
Jagannathan adds "We have various set of DNA's working for Swaraj news but all of them work as hard core journalists."
3:10
Ethiraj replies "We started something called FactChecker. In 2014, we would fact check statements in public life, as well as, Congress and the BJP's websites and leaders. It didn't then become as big it is today."
3:08
Sekhri asks if there was a different set of skills required to understand Swaraj news.
2:57
Hello and welcome to The Media Rumble sessions on False News in the Post-Truth World, with panelists - Govindraj Ethiraj, founder of Boom, Pratik Sinha, a member of 'Jang Sagaharsh Manch' and founder of AltNews, Shivam Vij, Deputy editor of Huffpost who also worked with magazines like Tehelka, Caravan, and is a founding member of ‘The Scroll’, and R Jagannathan, Editorial Director of Swaraj, moderated by Abhinandan Sekhri.
2:48
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