New Delhi: In November 2019, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) established a fact-check unit, with the stated purpose of “tackling the issue of fake news pertaining to the Government of India, its various ministries, departments, public sector undertakings, and other central government organisations”.
The body has been severely criticised for the government trying to conflate pro-government stories with ‘facts’.
The main contention of independent media and others contesting the IT Rules giving the fact-check unit the power to be able to recommend the pulling down of stories on the basis of their ‘fact-checks’ is that the PIB, a mouthpiece of the government of the day, cannot be relied upon to make decisions on ‘facts’ or the truth and get material pulled down.
The Supreme Court on Thursday (March 21) stayed the establishment of a fact-check unit, till the Bombay high court which is hearing the matter gives its final order.
The top court’s stay will be operational till a third judge in the Bombay high court decides the question of “validity of provisions of the Rule 3(1)(b)(v) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.”
The Internet Freedom Foundation on March 20 found the establishment of a government agency fact-check unit being set up once the election process was in full swing and the Model Code of Conduct in place, as something that “could vastly affect the nature of free speech on the internet as it holds the potential to be (mis)used for proactive censorship, most importantly in the context of dissent.”
But aside the merits of setting it up, the fact-check unit has had a chequered past. Here are at least five instances when the PIB’s fact-checking arm got it wrong:
Firstly, in May 2020, the PIB dubbed a report by The Wire as “factually incorrect”. The report suggested links between top political leaders and Rameshkumar Virani, an influential businessman who had stakes in Jyoti CNC, the company manufacturing Dhaman-1 ventilators during the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis. These ventilators were found to be substandard by doctors in Gujarat and the Puducherry government. Later on, The Wire’s claims were found to have been correct.
Second, on June 2, 2020, the PIB’s fact-check unit said that reports claiming that Chinese troops had entered the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control were a “misrepresentation” of the defence minister’s statements. However, two months later, a document from the defence ministry conceded that the transgression had indeed happened.
Claim: Raksha Mantri @rajnathsingh admitted on @CNNnews18 that Chinese soldiers crossed Indian side of LAC
Fact: The Minister was referring to differing perceptions of LAC & presence of Chinese troops It is being misinterpreted as if Chinese troops entered Indian side of LAC pic.twitter.com/Xews6Ba1bq
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) June 2, 2020
However, it later took down this report. According to The Hindu, the report said “the present situation arising from ‘unilateral aggression’ by China continues to be sensitive, requiring close monitoring and prompt action brd on the evolving situation, and the present stand-off “is likely to be prolonged.”
Third, during the ongoing Manipur violence, a story was published by The Wire on a BSF jawan’s family not receiving compensation after he was killed in the violence, as promised by home minister Amit Shah.
However, the PIB fact-check unit said on X (formerly Twitter) that the “claim is #Fake”. It said that the “family of late BSF Jawan received the entitled compensation from Golden Jubilee Seema Prahari Kalyan Kavach Yojana of Rs 16 lakh.”
The Wire, in its report, had specifically mentioned the unpaid compensation was due to the dead jawan’s family from the Manipur state government and the Union government, as per the announcement made by Shah on June 1, 2023.
Note that the Golden Jubilee Seema Prahari Kalyan Kavach Yojana is a group insurance pay-out to the family, not the compensation for death during the ongoing violence in Manipur.
In this story, The Wire’s correspondent clearly mentioned that Ranjit Yadav’s wife had approached the government of Manipur twice, and she didn’t receive any compensation from them (till the time of filing the report).
The story specifically referred to no compensation from both the state government or from the Union government.
The reference is to what should have followed from the Union home minister’s promises in his press conference on June 1, 2023, where he said (time stamp – 8:20) that those who lost their lives would receive Rs 5 lakh in compensation from the Manipur government and Rs 5 lakh from the Union government.
The PIB fact-check unit ignored the fact that the Golden Jubilee Seema Prahari Kalyan Kavach is not compensation, but a group insurance scheme, as defined in official documents, for “risk to the lives of BSF troops while on duty.” It is an internal insurance run by the paramilitary force. Jawans contribute to it. Listed under benefits on the BSF website, operational death cases should entitle the jawans to Rs 40 lakhs.
Fourth, in 2020, a news story was widely reported saying that the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force had directed its personnel and their family members to delete 52 Chinese applications from their mobile phones for security reasons. PIB claimed that these reports were “false”. However, subsequent probes showed that it was the PIB that had got it wrong.
Fifth, in 2023, The Wire published an article discussing the methodology and performance of the PIB, quoting facts and figures derived from a Right to Information response that the PIB itself had issued.
However, the PIB found fault with this report, coming up with updated numbers and facts that were absent from its own reply.
Deebakar Majumder is an intern with The Wire.
