Article Title: Here’s what it will take to win the battle against fake news

Article Summary

In this article, the author speaks of the menace of fake news and what can be done to counter it. While the fake news has always existed, it has grown leaps and bounds in present times; the author feels dejected when educated people who ought to know better fall for it. He quotes a recent article that lambasts mainstream media for its pretensions of neutrality suggesting that behind every report lies their personal biases and agendas. While perfect objectivity is impossible, the author agrees, it is not the same thing as agreeing that every proposition has an identical truth value. While mainstream media has bulwarks to weed out fake news, it circulates at a dizzying pace mostly by politically motivated activists outside the ambit of journalism. And India due to its reluctance to pay for high-grade journalism stands most vulnerable. Fake news gets spread mainly by gullible consumers and is therefore far more effective than the propaganda of the past. For this reason, we cannot leave the solution to government regulations and private firms, there has to be individual effort involved. Only with a zero tolerance mindset and policy can we do away with this menace for good.