By Matters India Reporter
Patna, Sept 19, 2020: An eminent media educator says the media has helped bust myth and foster critical thinking to combat the onslaught of fake news during coronavirus pandemic.
“Rumor mongering has taken its toll on a lot of people during Covid19 pandemic. Even the government claimed that the migrant crisis happened as a result of fake news,” observed Shashidhar Nanjundaiah, director of Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication, founding director of Indira School of Communication and first dean at India Today Media Institute.
According to him, diffusion of information has taken a new meaning. “The new form of information diffusion must include social media which works in tandem with the mainstream media,” Nanjundaiah said while addressing a September 18 webinar on ‘Media and Pandemic: How the Media Has Behaved During Covid-19,’ organized by the department of mass communication, St Xavier’s College of Management and Technology, Patna. Capital of Bihar.
“While the media took up the issue aggressively, the social media’s penchant for distorting facts and creating panic among migrant workers cannot be denied. When the misinformation starts to interfere with the dissemination of accurate facts, the situation becomes worrisome,” added the founder of ‘Being Responsible,’ who has introduced pioneering concepts and pedagogy into media education, called for redefining the media dependency theory from a different perspective.
“According to survey figures, 52 percent people read news on Facebook and WhatsApp and seem to trust rumors on social media. This is a dangerous trend,” he said.
Calling upon mass communication students to promote media literacy, Nanjundaiah said the ability to construct media messages and meanings relaying them on digital media platforms must be linked with the concept of social responsibility.
In his speech, St Xavier’s Principal Jesuit Father T Nishaant said the influence of media on shaping views, opinions, attitude and values of people was enormous. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it had risen to the occasion by keeping the people informed about the norms to be followed, he said.
Rumour mongering is a past-time for many in this country and they are behind many of the communal tensions taking place. The case in Gujarat where three people were burned to death was purely on false rumour. Many of the cow-vigilante attacks on people happened due to false news. People must be educated to check the news for its authenticity before jumping to attack people.
This is a matter of great importance.