<p>Bengaluru: Congress-ruled Karnataka has set up a high-level committee to institutionalise a mechanism to fight fake news, notwithstanding the Bombay High Court’s order striking down a similar move of the Modi administration to set up a fact-check unit. </p>.<p>The committee has Home Minister G Parameshwara as chairperson with IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge as co-chair, a government source with direct knowledge of this told <em>DH</em>. </p>.<p>Representatives from the departments of law and home are also on the committee.</p>.<p>“The committee has been tasked with evolving a mechanism to carry out fact-checking,” the source said. </p>.<p>Last year, the Siddaramaiah government set up the Information Disorder Tackling Unit (IDTU).</p>.Karnataka Minister questions BJP’s stance on POCSO case against former CM Yediyurappa.<p>During the Lok Sabha polls, the IDTU quietly ran a 90-day trial through its website satya.karnataka.gov.in</p>.<p>During the trial run, the IDTU combed 64,000 articles a day on the internet, resulting in at least 18 FIRs. A total of 537 fact-checks were done. Of them, 500 were deemed ‘threats’. </p>.<p>“We couldn’t evolve a proper mechanism at that time because of the elections,” the source said. </p>.<p>Soon after coming to power in June last year, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah directed the police to begin a crackdown on fake news, ostensibly keeping the Lok Sabha polls in mind, which eventually led to the formation of the IDTU.</p>.<p>Last month, the Bombay High Court struck down the 2023 amendments to the Information Technology Rules, which empowered the Union government to identify fake news on social media platforms through a Fact Check Unit (FCU). </p>.<p>The amended rules infringed the right to equality and freedom of speech, the court said. The court also said that the rules, being vague and broad, could cause a “chilling effect” not only on an individual but also social media intermediaries.</p>.<p>When contacted, Priyank said the Bombay High Court ruling would not impact his government’s plans. </p>.<p>“The Union government wanted to amend the existing rules to enable fact-checking. Karnataka, however, wants to do fact-checking under the existing legal framework without seeking any amendments,” Priyank, who anchored the state’s fact-checking project, explained. </p>.<p>In March this year, the government constituted a multi-departmental coordination committee. This has representatives from the police, IT/BT, law and information departments.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Congress-ruled Karnataka has set up a high-level committee to institutionalise a mechanism to fight fake news, notwithstanding the Bombay High Court’s order striking down a similar move of the Modi administration to set up a fact-check unit. </p>.<p>The committee has Home Minister G Parameshwara as chairperson with IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge as co-chair, a government source with direct knowledge of this told <em>DH</em>. </p>.<p>Representatives from the departments of law and home are also on the committee.</p>.<p>“The committee has been tasked with evolving a mechanism to carry out fact-checking,” the source said. </p>.<p>Last year, the Siddaramaiah government set up the Information Disorder Tackling Unit (IDTU).</p>.Karnataka Minister questions BJP’s stance on POCSO case against former CM Yediyurappa.<p>During the Lok Sabha polls, the IDTU quietly ran a 90-day trial through its website satya.karnataka.gov.in</p>.<p>During the trial run, the IDTU combed 64,000 articles a day on the internet, resulting in at least 18 FIRs. A total of 537 fact-checks were done. Of them, 500 were deemed ‘threats’. </p>.<p>“We couldn’t evolve a proper mechanism at that time because of the elections,” the source said. </p>.<p>Soon after coming to power in June last year, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah directed the police to begin a crackdown on fake news, ostensibly keeping the Lok Sabha polls in mind, which eventually led to the formation of the IDTU.</p>.<p>Last month, the Bombay High Court struck down the 2023 amendments to the Information Technology Rules, which empowered the Union government to identify fake news on social media platforms through a Fact Check Unit (FCU). </p>.<p>The amended rules infringed the right to equality and freedom of speech, the court said. The court also said that the rules, being vague and broad, could cause a “chilling effect” not only on an individual but also social media intermediaries.</p>.<p>When contacted, Priyank said the Bombay High Court ruling would not impact his government’s plans. </p>.<p>“The Union government wanted to amend the existing rules to enable fact-checking. Karnataka, however, wants to do fact-checking under the existing legal framework without seeking any amendments,” Priyank, who anchored the state’s fact-checking project, explained. </p>.<p>In March this year, the government constituted a multi-departmental coordination committee. This has representatives from the police, IT/BT, law and information departments.</p>
