Ministerial Summit for Information and Democracy

September 24, 2021

India statement

by

H. E. Shri Anurag Thakur

Minister for Information and Broadcasting

H.E. Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Chair of the Forum on Information and Democracy,

Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders (RSF),

Excellencies,

I am delighted to have the honor to represent India on behalf of my External Affairs Minister at this summit for Information and Democracy today.

Today, as the world grapples with the economic and social fallout of the Covid 19 pandemic, the democratic values and principles to abide by, become more relevant than ever.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented public policy challenge in the domain of health-care and public communication, impacting policy making in both these arenas immensely.

While the world is battling the pandemic, the task of combating the equally damaging “Infodemic” also presents a challenge to member States.

It is important that the issue of Infodemic is addressed at the highest level.

We are pleased to be a founding member and signatory of the “International Partnership for Information and Democracy”.

We thank H.E. Jean-Yves Le Drian for convening this inaugural Ministerial Summit, which provides us with an opportunity to share our experiences.

The World Health Organisation defines an Infodemic as an overabundance of information, both online and offline. It includes deliberate attempts to disseminate wrong information to undermine the public health response.

Misinformation and disinformation can be harmful to people’s physical and mental health; increase stigmatization; threaten precious health gains; and lead to poor observance of public health measures, thus reducing their effectiveness in controlling the pandemic.

Domestically, India faced a dual information challenge in the wake of the pandemic. On one end of the spectrum, the urban population faced the challenge of rapid spread of misleading and fake information through social media and other smart phone applications.

On the other end, we had people in rural and remote areas, where last mile communication varied from region to region with multiple regional languages.

The Government of India responded to these challenges through swift and clear communication, based on science and facts.

Ensuring regular and authentic flow of information has been an important policy component of the Indian response to counter misinformation, fake news and false narratives.

We held daily press briefings on COVID which was widely disseminated through the TV News, print, radio and social media.

India’s Press Information Bureau was actively involved in debunking fake narratives and news through its various platforms.

We also used the power of humour to inform the Indian public on various issues.

Excellencies,

At this juncture allow me to share some crucial learning from the Indian experience. We believe that flow of authentic information is crucial to address misinformation.

Keeping the nation confident with the desired level of trust on the authorities is of absolute essence.

Communication through the right messengers is important.

Authorities and medical experts should ensure credibility of the message while people of eminence in public life, sportspersons, celebrities and even social media influencers could be involved in taking these messages to the people.

Since disinformation comes in multiple shades, targeted strategies for preparedness and response regarding different forms of disinformation need to be developed for swifter global response in future.

There is a need for wider efforts regarding media literacy amongst the people to empower them to better deal with disinformation.

There is also a need to ensure regular feedback from the people, to allow fine-tuning the evolving infodemic communication strategy based on evidence from the ground.

We have been in the process of undertaking a number of initiatives to counter infodemic through multilateral platforms.

The General Assembly proclaimed this year, by consensus, October 24-31 as ‘Global Media and information Literacy week’ to address concerns about the exponential spread and proliferation of disinformation and misinformation through imparting media literacy skills.

I am happy to inform that India was among the core group of countries which piloted this resolution.

We are also among the co-sponsors of a similar resolution in UNESCO.

India was also among the co-authors of a first of its kind Cross-Regional Statement on “Infodemic” in the Context of COVID-19.

We have also actively supported the UN Department of Global Communication's "Verfied" and "Pledge To Pause" initiatives.

Excellencies,

Globally, engagement with member countries to address misinformation during an infodemic and learning from each other will go a long way to understand the issues and to find suitable solutions to address the concerns.

A transparent, timely and trust worthy flow of information furthers democracy and allows our citizens to take informed decisions.

India firmly believes in this. I Thank you.

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