PIB’s move to cancel the accreditation of journalists attacking India’s sovereignty and integrity is commendable

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, under the leadership of Anurag Singh Thakur, has released new guidelines for accreditation of PIB for journalists.
• The latest step of PIB will ensure that many of the journalists of media houses like The Wire, Quint, Scroll, NDTV who have the PIB card, do not misuse them.
• There are a few general guidelines like cross-checking or not forwarding forwarded messages to stay safe from fake news but there are also media houses and organizations which are dedicated to the cause.

Press Information Bureau, the regulatory body of print media, has said that accreditation of the journalists could be cancelled if they are found to be involved in “serious cognisable offence”. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, under the leadership of Anurag Singh Thakur, has released new guidelines for accreditation of PIB for journalists.

An accreditation by PIB gives the journalists unfettered access to the corridors of power, including ministry head offices, parliament, and many other important avenues in Lutyens Delhi and across the country.

The serious cognisable offence on which the accreditation can be cancelled includes sedition, contempt of court, wrongful representation of maps or any other action that harms the country’s integrity.

Central Media Accreditation Guidelines 2022 put out by PIB: Accreditation may be suspended/withdrawn if journalist is charged with serious cognisable offence; acts in manner prejudicial to sovereignty & integrity of India, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, etc

— Bharti Jain (@bhartijainTOI) February 7, 2022

The latest step of PIB will ensure that many of the journalists of media houses like The Wire, Quint, Scroll, NDTV who have the PIB card, do not misuse them. These people got the PIB card during the UPA government and now use it to get access to leaks from Union government offices and hurt the interest of the nation. In the coming days, journalists like Siddharth Varadarajan, Arfa Khanum Sherwani can get their accreditation cancelled.

In the last few years, the PIB has taken many commendable steps. The print media regulatory body which is also responsible for government communication started a different project, of fact-checking.

For the last few years, the spread of fake news has increased manifold, and it results in serious problems in many cases, as seen in the gathering of migrant workers at Bandra station in anticipation of trains after an ABP News journalist spread fake news that trains will be available after April 14.

There are a few general guidelines like cross-checking or not forwarding forwarded messages to stay safe from fake news but there are also media houses and organizations which are dedicated to the cause.

But, in India, sadly, the majority of the prominent fact-checkers are left-leaning. People like Pratik Sinha, who heads Alt News- the most prominent fact check website- are self-declared secular and socialist. The same goes with other prominent independent fact-checkers like Boomlive, which are sponsored by the international fact-checking network, and fact checks of left-leaning media organizations.

Therefore, most of the flagged fake news that comes out in the public domain is the one reported by people from the right side of the political spectrum. The fake news spread by leftist media houses, Twitter handles, Facebook and Instagram pages are seldom marked.

Thus, the PIB started the fact-checking project to counter the fake news spread by the leftist media houses against the government. Also, it fact-checks the public interest news instead of selectively targeting a few fringe right elements.

Read More: ‘You’re fake news!’ PIB is gloriously destroying The Caravan, Indian Express & Scroll one fact-check at a time

Under the Modi government, PIB has also strengthened its presence in regional and Indian languages. Before the Modi government came to power, it was an entrenched cabal of leftists.

To meet the information demands of regional press and other media, PIB has eight Regional Offices led by Additional Director Generals, as well as 34 Branch Offices and Information Centres.

These Regional and Branch Offices of PIB Hindi issue original press releases, press notes, backgrounders, and other materials whenever an important event is organized by any of the Central Ministries or Public Sector Undertakings in a particular region, in addition to releasing publicity material issued from the Headquarters in the local language.

These Offices also take up decisions made by the Central Government that may be of particular interest to a certain region for targeted publicity through long-term information distribution. Information, Education, and Communication (PUBLICITY) Feedback Accreditation, and Special Services are the three primary categories of PIB’s activities.

PIB has taken many commendable steps in the last few years, and this adds to the list. The news agency run by the government has become very efficient, in spreading news as well as in administrative capabilities.