A deep dive into dissemination of news in post-truth world

Falah Faisal | NT
Bengaluru

Ever since mass media evolved in the first half of the 20th century, our sense of the public realm has been shaped by the news we receive from media institutions. We operate by the assumption that this news is reliable and factually accurate, and the editors and journalists of media institutions can be trusted to uphold high ethical standards, fully aware of their societal impact. This is no longer the case.

To analyse news in the post-truth world we live in, Bangalore International Centre brought together a panel of Arvind Rajagopal (Professor of Media Studies at NYU), Bhasha Singh (senior journalist and writer), and Lawrence Liang (Professor of Law, Ambedkar University) which was moderated by Alpana Kishore (Writer and Urban Activist).

Alpana opened by saying that when the internet came about people thought it would democratise the news but 25 years later that is not the case. Arvind Rajagopal believes that the very institutions of democracy that enable the free flow of information are responsible for the rise of Fake News.

He says “We live in an era of mystic democracy where we believe it is people’s power. But the power is concentrated in the hands of a few businessmen and since politics is conducted in a virtual arena trolls have a large influence.”

“Media is like a thermostat that sets expectations. It was an idea that was developed in the US during the Cold War but it feels like the communication revolution is turning on itself,” he adds. Bhasha Singh, who has covered conflicts and witnessed the Delhi and Muzaffarnagar violences firsthand, points out the crude nature of news coming out of places like Sri Lanka, Ukraine and Afghanistan.

“We need to ask what divides news from propaganda. In a post-truth world, journalists are scared about what they report, and there is no scope for real investigative journalism. And the Hindu majority’s sentiments have become governing policy,” she says, pointing out the plight of Siddique Kappan who is still being incarcerated without having written a word about the Hathras case.

“21 journalists were detained last year, and 15 are still imprisoned. Recently a Pulitzer award-winning journalist from Kashmir wasn’t allowed to leave the country. Despite the dangers though youngsters online are still reporting. The fighting spirit is still there,” she says with a ray of hope. Lawrence Liang believes we need to rethink liberalism and who we are defending.

He says: “We live in an era where either the law is doing too much or too little. The police have taken on the role of content providers more than an investigation agency. Instead of validating the truth, we have slipped into speculative fiction.” But regulation isn’t the answer. He says, “Because regulation will be weaponised against individuals instead of large organisations. The situation we are in is similar to being held hostage by a Bollywood villain from an 80’s film. When he wants to throw the hero in liquid oxygen, he says ‘Liquid isse jeene nahin dega aur oxygen marne nahi dega.’”

The panel discussion ends with them questioning whether there is such a thing as absolute truth in this day and age and a call to return to decency where things like lynchings and media trials no longer happen. “We have fought hard to get to where we are now but it feels like we are going backward. But every era comes to an end and it matters how the citizens reclaim democracy after this,” concludes Bhasha Singh.