Thirteen Union ministers, including Minister of Information and Broadcasting Smriti Irani, have tweeted a link to a website in the last few days that claims to have busted “four major fake news stories”. The website – www.thetruepicture.in – was registered last year, according to domain registration and hosting service provider whois.com, a report in The Indian Express has claimed.
According to the report, the website shares its landline telephone number with BlueKraft Digital Foundation, which is the “technology and knowledge” partner of Exam Warriors, the book that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to help children fight exam stress.
BlueKraft Digital Foundation was founded by entrepreneurs Hitesh Jain and Rajesh Jain in 2016, according to the Registrar of Companies. Rajesh Jain was reportedly involved in Narendra Modi’s campaign during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and has also served as a part-time member of the Unique Identification Authority of India.
The company’s founding Chief Executive Officer Akhilesh Mishra was also a member of Modi’s 2014 election campaign team, the newspaper reported. Before setting up BlueKraft, he served as content director of Centre’s citizen engagement platform MyGov.in. He denied any links with the website, though.
“We don’t run it,” Mishra told The Indian Express, when asked about True Picture and his company sharing the same landline number. “This must be some mix-up.”
One of the stories that the website claimed is fake was a story about a Dalit man murdered for owning a horse. The Indian Express, however, said it has a copy of the First Information Report filed in the case that quotes the father.
Journalists’ accreditation
The Centre on Monday said journalists accused of reporting or propagating fake news will lose their press accreditation till regulating agencies confirm the validity of the complaint.
The Press Council of India and News Broadcasters’ Association will determine if a journalist is responsible for writing or spreading fake news reports. The accreditation of a journalist found violating the guidelines for the first time would be suspended for six months, and for a year in case of a second violation. Journalists found violating the norms the third time might lose their accreditation permanently.
The Accreditation Committee of the Press Information Bureau, which consists of representatives from the PCI and the NBA, would validate accreditation requests placed by media organisations.
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