VOA慢速英语--印度政府被迫放弃打击假新闻

Indian Government Forced to Drop Move Against Fake News

Media supporters reacted very strongly last week to an order by India’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry¹.

The government threatened to suspend the work documents of any reporter accused of spreading, what it called, “fake news.”

The new rule caused such an outcry against the government that Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrew it in less than 24 hours.

Opponents of the order said the government was trying to control the media as the country prepares for general elections in 2019.

The government’s effort to stop what it considers fake news brought attention to a growing problem in the world’s largest democracy.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry said fake news in different mediums, including newspapers and the internet, made the order necessary. The ministry said it would punish journalists accused of creating fake news by not permitting them to go to government offices or press events.

The Editors Guild² of India protested the order. The trade group said it would lead to political pressure on journalists.

Media experts pointed³ out that the government order did not define what fake news was. It also did not target non-traditional media online that have grown in number.

Experts questioned the government’s ability to solve the problem.

Jency Jacob is the managing editor for boomlive.in, a fact-checking website that seeks to disprove fake stories. Jency said political parties often create fake news, not the media. Jency added that the order was an attempt by the government to confuse people about the origins of fake news.

How fake news spreads

Many senior journalists questioned the timing⁴ of the effort to stop fake news. There will be important state elections before the general elections in 2019. And some observers say Prime Minister Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party has lost some support.

“The reversal has started. Somewhat bad press is coming up. This is overreaction to that,” said N. Bhaskars Rao, head of the Center of Media Studies in New Delhi.

The BJP has ignored the criticism. The party said the order was removed quickly because Modi wanted to reinforce his belief in press freedom.

Most fake news in India spreads through the social media platform WhatsApp. Its influence has grown as the spread of mobile phones increases internet availability around the country.

A few people have started fact-checking websites to stop the spread of fake news. They say many people, especially in the countryside, do not ask where information comes from on social networks.

They have also found that untrue information includes everything from false weather reports to bad health information.

Fact checkers can't keep up

Pratik Sinha started the website Altnews. He said the number of fake stories with political messages on social media often grows at election time.

He said December elections in Modi’s home state showed that both the ruling and opposition⁵ parties have used fake news as a campaign tool.

The biggest problem, Sinha said, is that fake news has the ability to increase religious tension and cause violence. His website has found fake news from many people who are ideologically⁷ active.

Last month, the editor of the website Postcard News was arrested for writing an untrue story about Muslims attacking a Jain monk⁸, a religious worker who had been hurt in an accident. A year ago, untrue stories in a village about child kidnappers⁹ led to the death of seven people.

Mainstream¹⁰ media not immune

Jacob of boomlive.in said traditional media also is to blame sometimes because they do not check their facts as they hurry to release a story.

Jacob added that a lot of television stations and newspapers are using fake news and then saying ‘it is not my problem.’

However, many people agree that a government order is not the way to solve the problem.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

fake – adj. not true or real

journalist – n. the activity or job of collecting, writing, and editing news stories for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio

confuse –v. to make someone uncertain or unable to understand something

origins –n. where something begins or starts

reversal – n. a change to an opposite state, condition, decision,

platform – n. a type of media

ideological⁶ – adj. the set of ideas and beliefs of a group or political party

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

7 ideologically   

adv. 意识形态上地，思想上地

参考例句：

• Ideologically, they have many differences. 在思想意识上，他们之间有许多不同之处。
• He has slipped back ideologically. 他思想退步了。

8 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

9 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。