Yesterday was 1st April, which has customarily been celebrated as April
Fool’s Day. And practically, all of us have been inadvertently victims of a
hoax or prank by a friend on this day, at some point of time or the other. But
this was all good fun and in good spirits.
But, now fake news or hoax is flooding the social media as it has become
“the platform” for exchange of news or information, which can be either true or
false.
The New York Times defined “fake news” on the Internet as
false articles deliberately fabricated to deceive readers, generally with the
goal of profiting through clickbait. Clickbait is content whose main purpose is
to attract attention and encourage visitors to click on a link to a particular
web page (Toronto Public Library. https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/spotfakenews/).
Whenever we come
across a news story, we want an evidence or proof of that. The evidence can be
in six different forms in the most to least importance piece of evidence.
1.
Pratyakṣa (प्रत्यक्ष) or directly perceived by any of the five senses. This is the strongest piece of evidence. In this we have seen, heard,
tasted, smelt or felt the evidence with our own senses. It is not through
hearsay or based on gossip. Original research is the classical example and
given the maximum weightage.
2.
Anumāna (अनुमान) or inference is the next most
reliable evidence. It is a research analysis based on observations,
previous findings and applying reason or hypothesis. Observing smoke and
inferring fire is an example of Anumana. It is based
on pratijna (hypothesis like null’s in medicine), hetu (a
reason), and drshtanta (examples). All our medical researches based
on statistics are based on this principle. Systematic
reviews, meta-analysis, guidelines come in this category.
3.
Upamāna (उपमान) is based on comparison and analogy.
We assume things based on one or more observations. Like in an epidemic of
dengue we presume fever deaths due to dengue only. All observations
studies come in this segment
4.
Arthāpatti (अर्थापत्ति) means postulation, derivation from
circumstances.
5.
Anupalabdi (अनुपलब्धि) means non-perception, negative/cognitive
proof based on principal negation or differential diagnosis. You rule out other
causes and then presume an answer.
6.
Śabda (शब्द) means relying on word, testimony of
past or present reliable experts. The interpretation is important but least
reliable in terms of evidence.
Making false claims is
unethical.
· MCI Ethics 6.8 (h)
Endorsement:
A medical practitioner shall not endorse any drug or product of the industry
publically. Any study conducted on the efficacy or otherwise of such products
shall be presented to and / or through appropriate scientific bodies or
published in appropriate scientific journals in a proper way”.
· The Drugs and Magic
Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 is an Act of the
Parliament of India which controls advertising of drugs in India. It prohibits
advertisements of drugs and remedies that claim to have magical properties, and
makes doing so a cognizable offence. The law prohibits advertising (claims) of
drugs and remedies for inducing miscarriage or preventing conception in women,
improving or maintaining the capacity for sexual pleasure, correction of
menstrual disorders, curing, diagnosing or preventing any disease or condition
mentioned in an included schedule (54 diseases under this restriction
Appendicitis, Arteriosclerosis, Blindness, Blood poisoning, Bright's disease,
Cancer, Cataract, Deafness, Diabetes, Diseases and Disorders of brain, Diseases
and Disorders of the optical system, Diseases and Disorders of the uterus,
Disorders of menstrual flow, Disorders of the nervous system, Disorders of the
prostatic gland, Dropsy, Epilepsy, Female diseases (in general), Fevers (in general),Fits,
Form and structure of the female bust, Gall stones, kidney stones and bladder
stones, Gangrene,Glaucoma, Goitre, Heart diseases, High/low blood pressure,
Hydrocele, Hysteria, Infantile paralysis, Insanity, Leprosy, Leucoderma,
Lockjaw, Locomotor ataxia, Lupus, Nervous debility, Obesity,Paralysis, Plague,
Pleurisy, Pneumonia, Rheumatism, Ruptures, Sexual impotence, Smallpox, Stature
of persons, Sterility in women, Trachoma, Tuberculosis, Tumours, Typhoid fever,
Ulcers of the gastro-intestinal tract, Venereal diseases, including syphilis,
gonorrhoea, soft chancre, venereal granuloma and lympho granuloma).
Spreading false news is punishable under Section 66A of the
Information Technology Act, 2000 “Punishment for sending offensive messages
through communication service etc.”, which states as follows: “Any
person who sends, by means of a computer resource or a communication device-
(a) Any information that is grossly offensive or has menacing character
or
(b) Any information which he knows to be false, but for the purpose of
causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal
intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill will, persistently by making use of such
computer resource or a communication de4vice, or
(c) Any electronic mail or electronic mail message for the purpose
causing annoyance or inconvenience or to deliver or to mislead the addressee or
receipt about the origin of such messages, Shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with fine.
Explanation – For the purposes of this section, terms “electronic mail”
and “electronic mail message” means a message or information created or
transmitted or received on a computer, computer system, computer resource or
communication device including attachments in text, image, audio, video and any
other electronic record, which may be transmitted with the message.”
Identity theft, cheating by personation, sharing obscene material in
electronic form are also punishable under the IT Act as follows:
·
Section 66C of the IT Act, 2000: Punishment for
identity theft- Whoever, fraudulently or
dishonestly make use of the electronic signature, password or any other unique
identification feature of any other person, shall be punished with imprisonment
of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also
be liable to fine with may extend to rupees one lakh.
·
Section 66D of the IT Act, 2000: Punishment for
cheating by personation by using computer resource
– Whoever, by means for any communication device or computer resource cheats by
personating, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine which may
extend to one lakh rupees.
·
Section 67 of the IT Act, 2000: Punishment for
publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form – Whoever publishes or transmits or causes to be published or
transmitted in the electronic form, any material which is lascivious or appeals
to the prurient interest or if its effect is such as to tend to deprave and
corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to
read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it, shall be punished on
first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may
extend to three years and with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees and in
the event of second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to five years and also with fine which
may extend to ten lakh rupees.
·
Section 84B of IT Act, 2000: Punishment for abetment
of offences: Whoever abets any offence shall,
if the act abetted is committed in consequence of the abetment, and no express
provision is made by this Act for punishment of such abetment, be punished with
the punishment provided for the offence under this Act. Explanation – An act or
offence is said to be committed in consequence of abetment, when it is
committed in consequence if the instigation, or in pursuance of the conspiracy,
or with the aide which constitutes the abetment.
·
Section 84C of IT Act, 2000: Punishment for attempt to
commit offences- Whoever attempts to commit an
offence punishable by this Act or causes such an offence to be committed, and
in such an attempt does any act towards the commission of the offence shall,
where no express provision is made for the punishment of such attempt, be
punished with imprisonment of any description provided for the offence, for a
term which may extend to one-half of the longest term of imprisonment provided
for that offence, or with such as is provided for the offence, or with both.
A person who spreads false news can also be prosecuted under various
sections of the Indian Penal Code.
·
Section 177 IPC: Furnishing false information.—Whoever, being legally bound to furnish information on any subject to
any public servant, as such, furnishes, as true, information on the subject
which he knows or has reason to believe to be false, shall be punished with
simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine
which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both; or, if the information
which he is legally bound to give respects the commission of an offence, or is required
for the purpose of preventing the commission of an offence, or in order to the
apprehension of an offender, with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
·
Section 416 IPC:
A person is said to “cheat by personation” if he cheats by pretending to be
some other person, or by knowingly substituting one person for another, or
representing that he or any other person is a person other than he or such other
person really is. Explanation.—The offence is committed whether the individual
personated is a real or imaginary person.
·
Section 419 IPC:
Whoever cheats by personation shall be punished with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with
both.
·
Section 499 IPC:
A person who by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by
visible representations, makes or publishes any imputation concerning any
person intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such
imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said, except in the
cases hereinafter expected, to defame that person.
·
Section 500 IPC:
A person who defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a
term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Fake news was named as the Word of the Year by Collins
Dictionary in 2017.
Fake news is deliberate misinformation and
disinformation not only in the social media but also in the regular mainstream
media. The intent is to mislead.
Hence, it becomes extremely important to recognize fake news and
differentiate it from genuine news.
There should be a law against fake news as it can
generate social unrest in the community and polarize society into groups.
Agitations may be an unwanted consequence of fake news.
Dr KK Aggarwal
Padma Shri
Awardee
President Elect Confederation of
Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania
(CMAAO)
Group
Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications
President Heart
Care Foundation of India
Past National President
IMA
No comments:
Post a Comment