New Delhi: The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) on Wednesday (April 1, 2020) welcomed the Supreme Court's directive that the media should report responsibly and weed out any "fake news" in social media while telecasting news on the coronavirus crisis.
In a statement issued by its president Rajat Sharma, the NBA said that it is also pleased to learn that a daily bulletin by the government through all media avenues, including social media and forums, will be made available to clear the doubts of people.
"This would help media immensely to clarify the doubts and enable them to do accurate reporting," the NBA statement said.
The NBA welcomed the Supreme Court order dated March 31 and agreed that the media should report responsibly and weed out any fake news in social media while telecasting news on the coronavirus crisis.
The NBA appreciates that the apex court has acknowledged the freedom of the press and has stated that it does not intend to interfere with the free discussion, debate and coverage about the pandemic, the statement said.
The Centre had earlier sought directions from the Supreme Court for the media houses not to publish, print or telecast anything without first confirming it from the concerned authorities, keeping in view the sensitivity of the news regarding COVID-19 in the country.
The Central government had filed its status report with respect to the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a lawyer, Alakh Alok Srivastava, seeking a direction to provide food, medicines, shelter and other basic necessities to migrant labourers and workers amid the national lockdown.
The Centre stated in its report that it wanted media houses not to publish the news of COVID-19, without asking the Central government authorities, who are assigned to talk to media houses, keeping in view the welfare and benefit of migration labourers and other people due to the pandemic.
"We expect the media (print, electronic or social) to maintain a strong sense of social responsibility and ensure that unverified news -capable of causing panic--is not disseminated," the report stated.
