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On Sunday, during an online lecture on ‘Fake News and Misinformation’ organised by Madras Bar Association, Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul talked about the maniac which is spreading because of unlimited forwarding of Fake News on Whatsapp. Justice Kaul said that people are mindlessly spreading the fake messages without even checking the veracity and source of the news. He suggested people to apply their individual discretion before sharing any message as a fake message can result in chaos and disharmony. He said that regulation on social media is not possible as it would lead to restriction on free speech. He said “Regulating social media to counter such fake news could amount to violation of free speech and it is up to people to verify the correctness of the content of the message before spreading the same,”
He further said that tracing and imposing accountability in the case of social media is not easy as it is in press. Press can be held accountable for spreading fake news but it is not possible in the case of social media. "Journalists have a badge. They have a team of editors and are responsible for their publications. When the press is writing, they are accountable. Writing news is their bread and butter, and they write with a certain sense of responsibility. But there were others who use social media to maybe not propagate their views, but to express, without checks or balances,"
He also talked about the budding culture of Trolling on social media and the increasing demand of "Instant Justice". While giving advice to people he said “If possible count to 10 before you respond to anything"
To curb the epidemic of fake news, Whatsapp recently limited the number of types a message can be forwarded. One message which has already been forwarded for more than five times, can be forwarded to a single chat at a time.
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