Dinesh Gupta, IPS SDPO Mokokchung
The lynching of two Guwahati youth at Karbi Anglong is fresh in our minds. The incident was just one in a series of such events which led to the killing of nine people across the country in the past one month, on the suspicion of them being child lifters. Fake rumours regarding child kidnappers are spreading via whatsapp and other social media leading to hysteria amongst the general public, causing such extreme reactions.
Also fresh is the recent violence in Shillong, where an inflammatory and fake whatsapp message about some Khasi boys being killed by Punjabis, led to intensification of hostilities to such an extent that the Army had to be called in.
These are just a few of the many instances happening everyday where fake, unsubstantiated messages are leading to loss of life and property. But this phenomenon is not new. Alongside information, misinformation has always been a part of the society. But what is new is the speed and reach of these rumours due to presence of internet and smartphones. Now anyone can create unverified/ inflammatory/ divisive content and it goes viral within hours. First time internet users and gullible individuals believe all that to be true, which leads to an unnecessary panic. It creates a situation where rumours or fake news about any emotive issue like religion, caste, tribe, child lifting etc can lead to people taking law in their hands and a vicious cycle of violence.
It is not easy to fight fake news for many reasons. Governments find it hard to control the content which is circulating on social media, even though appropriate laws have been enacted. Fake news is designed to evoke maximum emotion, and hence people tend to believe them. If such misinformation is forwarded by close/ trusted persons, people will tend to believe it, no matter the content.
The only solution at this point is to take every such news/ forward with a pinch of criticality and logical thinking. One should try to verify the facts before believing in them. Local authorities or nearest police station should be informed about the news spreading and they may also be asked to verify it, instead of taking direct action based on the rumours.
Nagaland police has also been trying to fight this menace of fake news, with Circulars and Advisory being issued from the DGP office. Also, different district police units have countered the fake news of child lifters, organ smugglers etc actively by putting out official notices against them.
We, at Mokokchung police, have also started a public awareness program against fake news,as per the directions of SP Mokokchung.
But it is a long drawn fight, which will have to be fought at many levels and by all the stakeholders combined. A difficult but a must win war!
