‘Beware of WhatsApp, social media; even intelligent people fall prey to fake news’

coastaldigest.com web desk

October 29, 2018

Bengaluru, Oct 29: Several media giants, who participated in the panel discussion on ‘Fake News: Whose lie is it anyway?’ during the Bangalore Literature Festival on Sunday, expressed grave concern over the menace.

Pratik Sinha, co-founder of AltNews, an online fact-checking website, stressed on the role of social media in the spread of fake news. He said the broader issue was that of the excess of information brought about by increasing internet connectivity across the country.

Warning against downplaying the impact of WhatsApp and social media platforms, he said even in large parts of society that are offline, WhatsApp messages have a serious impact.

“It is the influential who can afford smartphones and their word carries weight. Thirty people were killed in recent times because of WhatsApp messages about alleged child-lifters. It is real,” he said.

Mukund Padmanabhan, Editor, The Hindu, said WhatsApp was probably the biggest vector of fake news today, and not just the uninformed, but even intelligent people could fall prey to it.

He said rather than waiting for technology solutions or government intervention, what would work was awareness among citizens “that not everything we see is true”.

He said that the pervasiveness of clickbait headlines in the world of instantaneous news, when everyone must be one nanosecond ahead of the other, had impacted journalism. “There is not much introspection over this,” he said, and advocated a culture of media houses learning to seek apology for mistakes and misinformation.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

QR-code tips power Mangaluru's major drug bust: 25 arrested in 2 weeks

News Network

December 16,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 16: The Mangaluru City police have significantly escalated their campaign against drug trafficking, arresting 25 individuals and booking 12 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between November 30 and December 13. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of illicit substances, including 685.6 grams of MDMA and 1.5 kg of ganja.

The success of this recent drive has been significantly boosted by the city’s innovative, QR code-based anonymous reporting system.

"The anonymous reporting system has received an encouraging response. Several recent arrests were made based on inputs received through this system, helping police tighten the noose around drug peddlers," said the City Police Commissioner.

The latest arrests contribute to a robust year-to-date record, underscoring the police's relentless commitment to combating the drug menace.

Up to December 14 this year, the police have registered a total of 107 cases of drug peddling, leading to the arrest of 219 peddlers. Furthermore, they have booked 562 cases of drug consumption, resulting in the arrest of 671 individuals.

The scale of the seizure for the year reflects the magnitude of the problem being tackled: police have seized 320.6 kg of ganja worth ₹88.7 lakh and 1.4 kg of MDMA valued at ₹1.2 crore. Other significant seizures include hydro-weed ganja worth ₹94.7 lakh and cocaine worth ₹1.9 lakh, among others.

The Commissioner emphasized a policy of rigorous enforcement: "We ensure that peddlers are caught red-handed so that they cannot later dispute the case or claim innocence."

To counter the rising trend of substance abuse among youth, the Mangaluru City police have rolled out uniform guidelines for random drug testing across educational institutions.

As part of the drive, tests were conducted in approximately 100 institutions, screening an estimated 5,500 to 6,000 students in the first phase. 20 students tested positive for drug consumption during the initial screening.

Students who tested positive have been provided counselling and are scheduled for re-testing in the second quarter. The testing will also be expanded to students not covered in the first phase. In a move to ensure strict implementation, police personnel were deployed in mufti in some institutions. Reiterating a zero-tolerance stance, the Commissioner confirmed that random testing will continue, and colleges have also been instructed to conduct drug tests at the time of admission to deter substance abuse from an early stage.

Comments