The fact check unit under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) will be the fact check unit for the Central or the federal government, according to an official notification issued by Meity yesterday.

The fact check unit has been notified under IT Rules of 2021, according to the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity).

“The Central government hereby notifies the Fact Check Unit under the Press Information Bureau of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as the fact check unit of the Central Government for the purposes of the said sub-clause, in respect of any business of the Central Government,” the notification said, according to a PTI report from New Delhi.

Meanwhile, in November 2019, PIB established a Fact Check Unit (FCU) with the purpose of tackling the issue of fake news pertaining to the Government of India.

The notification was issued yesterday after the Bombay High Court on March 13 declined to restrain the Centre from notifying the unit and a day before the Supreme Court is slated to hear the matter.

A report yesterday on the notification by The Hindustan Times, interestingly observed that under the Rules, it is not clear what intermediaries — which run the gamut of the entirety of the internet from social media platforms to cloud service providers to domain registrars to web hosts to internet service providers — are supposed to do when the FCU labels any content as “patently false and untrue or misleading in nature”. Actions that have been discussed in the Bombay high court and within the IT ministry include labelling content as “fake” or “misleading”, and taking it down entirely.

According to a government statement, issued when the FCU was set up in 2019, a significant aspect of the responsibility of facilitating public information about the functioning of the Government of India involves countering the dissemination of fake, false, and misleading information.

It said the PIB has been carrying out this function since long through wide distribution of accurate and reliable information, issuing rebuttals, etc.

In the age of social media where information spreads rapidly, the spread of fake and manipulated information, especially related to the functioning of a democratically elected government, is dangerous to society as it has the potential to intensify social, economic and political conflicts, weaken public trust in democratic institutions, and even endanger life of the citizens, the statement had stated.

FCU verifies claims about government policies, regulations, announcements and measures. Through an established rigorous fact-checking procedure, the PIB unit helps in dispelling myths, rumours and false claims, and provides accurate and reliable information to the public.