Faking risk: on fighting fake news

The frequency with which reporters have been jailed given that the break out of the COVID-19 pandemic is rather troubling. The factors provided by the police across India for apprehending reporters and editors of news portals suggest that special provisions enacted to avoid the spread of rumour during disasters are being utilized to suppress reporting on political developments and possible governmental corruption. The most egregious case involves a criminal arrangement that governments invariably fall back upon to suppress dissent. The arrest of Dhaval Patel, editor of a news portal in Gujarat, on the major charge of sedition, is a stunning circumstances of abuse of criminal laws to frighten reporters. The case concerned a post speculating that State Chief Minister Vijay Rupani might be replaced by the BJP for his alleged inefficient handling of efforts to combat the pandemic. The report had actually even called a possible successor. It is befuddling how such a report might total up to sedition, no matter whether the speculation is true. Frequently, the source of such speculation is a dissatisfied area of the ruling party itself, and it is extreme to penalize reportage with insufficient confirmation with arrest and prosecution for sedition. Mr. Patel has likewise been charged under Section 54 of the Catastrophe Management Act f or alleg