Taking apathetic view toward migrant crisis once again, the government told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that panic, sparked by fake news, triggered the exodus of poor, jobless, and hungry laborers who walked thousands of kilometers to their homes.
This statement came after the government denied having information on how many workers died en route, saying in the absence of data, there's no question of compensation.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government was asked two separate queries.
TMC member Mala Roy asked why migrants were forced to walk for thousands of kilometers.
Blaming misinformation, MoS (Home) Nityanand Rai said, "People, especially migrant laborers, were worried about an adequate supply of basic necessities like food, drinking water, health services, and shelter."
This panic forced them to take difficult journeys.
"However, Central government was conscious of this, and took all the necessary measures to ensure that during the period of the inevitable lockdown, no citizen should be deprived of basic amenities of food, drinking water, medical facilities, etc.," Rai said on Monsoon Session's second day.
Thereafter, Congress MP Manish Tewari asked why only a four-hour notice was given for the lockdown. To recall, India went into a complete lockdown on March 25 to curtail the coronavirus transmission.
In a written reply, Rai said various measures, like curbs on international travel, advisories for the public, setting up quarantine facilities, etc., were taken after the outbreak on January 7, 2020.
Rai added that any movement of masses would have emboldened the disease's spread.
So considering the experience in other countries and various containment measures, the lockdown was announced on March 24, 2020, he added.
The BJP minister said many states and Union Territories had announced partial curbs between March 16 and 23 itself, based on their assessment of the problem.
Rai further said that the federal government permitted states to put the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to use on March 24 itself.
This fund was meant to provide temporary accommodation, food, clothing, and medical care to the laborers.
He also claimed the Centre released an advance Rs. 11,092 crore from SDRFs on April 3.
On migrants' deaths, he reiterated the Centre's earlier position.
Meanwhile, the government's response to the crisis, which tore apart the nation's conscience, didn't find many takers in the opposition.
On Monday's response, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi asked, "If you didn't count, does that mean no one died."
CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury said the government's response was shameful and irresponsible, whereas Kerala's Finance Minister suggested Centre to acknowledge at least the tentative deaths.
The exodus, one of the worst episodes of India's modern history, was triggered after the lockdown shut everything. Left with no money, the laborers walked toward their homes.
Some hitched rides on highways, but it proved risky; some died due to unforgiving heat.
The government ran Sharmik Special Trains from May, but due to poor arrangements, at least 80 migrants died in Railway's premises.
Read more here:
Now, Modi government says fake news forced migrants to walk - NewsBytes
- The little things pop-ups, notifications, warnings work to fight fake news, new evidence shows - Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard - July 2nd, 2020 [July 2nd, 2020]
- Take care before you share: Nazma Aapi is back with her witty yet important message on fake news - Hindustan Times - July 2nd, 2020 [July 2nd, 2020]
- Fake News and Alternative Facts - KCPW - July 2nd, 2020 [July 2nd, 2020]
- Fake News: What is the Epoch Times and Why Did It Arrive On My Doorstep? - Lost Coast Outpost - July 2nd, 2020 [July 2nd, 2020]
- There probably isn't as much fake news in the media as we think - New Scientist News - July 5th, 2020 [July 5th, 2020]
- Letters to the Editor: 'Fake news' on coronavirus; rampant revisionism; the nature of gender - The Providence Journal - July 5th, 2020 [July 5th, 2020]
- Fake News Busted! BMC clarifies 169 residents of Omkar Alta Monte in Malad have not tested positive for - Mumbai Mirror - July 5th, 2020 [July 5th, 2020]
- Fake News, Hiding Data and Profits: How COVID-19 Spun Out of Control in Brazil - The Wire - July 5th, 2020 [July 5th, 2020]
- Brazil's Bolsonaro would veto bill regulating fake news in current form - Reuters - July 5th, 2020 [July 5th, 2020]
- MMA and QAnon: How fake news and conspiracies permeated the octagon - The Guardian - July 5th, 2020 [July 5th, 2020]
- Liberty and responsibility: SC rulings on internet restrictions in J&K uphold balanced constitutionalism - The Indian Express - July 10th, 2020 [July 10th, 2020]
- People more wary of others viewing Covid-19 fake news than themselves survey - Yahoo Finance UK - July 10th, 2020 [July 10th, 2020]
- CBSE Board Results 2020: Results not on July 11 and 13, CBSE says notice fake - The Financial Express - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- Learn about misinformation, fake news and political propaganda in an online workshop from the Klamath County Library - Herald and News - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- Editor, staff arrested for fake news on CMs health - The Hindu - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- Fake news alert: CBSE 2020 results not releasing this week - NewsBytes - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- Maharashtra Lockdown Extension News: Shutdown in Thane's Bhiwandi Town Extended Till July 19 - India.com - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- We live in an age of 'fake news'. But Australian children are not learning enough about media literacy - The Conversation AU - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- There is a pandemic of fake news and hate on social media. You can help fight it - The Times of India Blog - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- Education In The Age Of Fake News, Distraction, And Vanity - Forbes - July 12th, 2020 [July 12th, 2020]
- Fake news detection tool being developed at University of Exeter - Information Age - July 14th, 2020 [July 14th, 2020]
- How the UAE is using fake news to manufacture a Turkish role in Yemen - TRT World - July 14th, 2020 [July 14th, 2020]
- Google to boost fake news, illegal content monitoring on YouTube - India TV News - July 14th, 2020 [July 14th, 2020]
- Coronavirus: misinformation is leading to 'fake news' anxieties in Dutch refugee communities - The Conversation UK - July 14th, 2020 [July 14th, 2020]
- Priyanka Gandhi says report that she wants more time to vacate government bungalow is fake news - Scroll.in - July 15th, 2020 [July 15th, 2020]
- PQE Group Creates an Internal Research Task Force to Fight Fake News in Relation to COVID-19 - PRNewswire - July 15th, 2020 [July 15th, 2020]
- We were shouted at for wearing masks. This is why the situation in the US is so dire - Sky News - July 18th, 2020 [July 18th, 2020]
- Man arrested for fake post on Mayurbhanj royal family in Odisha's Baripada - The New Indian Express - July 18th, 2020 [July 18th, 2020]
- Fake News Alert: No Lockdown Will be Imposed in Jammu From Tomorrow | Heres The Truth - India.com - July 18th, 2020 [July 18th, 2020]
- Future of astrology: Is there a place for pseudoscience in newspapers? - Press Gazette - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Prathap NM, hailed as 'drone scientist', passes off German and Japanese drones as his own - Alt News - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Khabib has not retired, will face Gaethje 'before the end of the year' - Yahoo Sports - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Project Origin is watermarking media to fight fake news ahead of the election - Axios - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Facts or fake news: Revealing patterns in the COVID-19 tweets of Trudeau and Trump - The Conversation CA - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Afraid Outraged Fake News Could Be the Culprit / Public News - Public News Service - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Covid-19 misinformation is everywhere, but it could have been much worse - CNBC - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Trump's coronavirus briefings are back, but the trust isn't - NBC News - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- 'Staggering' Russia report reveals why government batted off Brexit interference claims - Sky News - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- Exploring the world: primary approaches to news literacy - The Guardian - July 22nd, 2020 [July 22nd, 2020]
- Fake news alert: Helicopter-truck crash video doing rounds on social is not from Amritsar. Here's the truth - Times Now - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- Clint Eastwood Sues, Says He Has Nothing to Do With CBD Products - The New York Times - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- Wake up, America; discount the fake news - News from southeastern Connecticut - theday.com - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- Singapore's Ambassador to the US Responds to Criticism of 'Fake News' Law - The Diplomat - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- People are injecting themselves with bleach because of fake news, says senior MP - Telegraph.co.uk - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- Police crack down on those spreading fake news - The Hindu - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- Turning Fake News on its Head: Stalin Lives Again to Reveal Deep Truth - Canada NewsWire - July 25th, 2020 [July 25th, 2020]
- Cake meme reflects coronavirus absurdity in a world where nothing is what it seems - NBC News - July 26th, 2020 [July 26th, 2020]
- The Misinformation Age Has ExacerbatedAnd Been Exacerbated Bythe Coronavirus Pandemic - TIME - July 26th, 2020 [July 26th, 2020]
- Why are millennials and Gen Z turning to Instagram as a news source? - The Guardian - July 27th, 2020 [July 27th, 2020]
- [Webinar] #FreeSpeech: Perspectives from the UK and the US on Social Media Liability for Fake News, Damaging Content and Censorship - July 29th, 9:00... - July 27th, 2020 [July 27th, 2020]
- Governors who took the virus seriously from the start get a boost - NBC News - July 27th, 2020 [July 27th, 2020]
- Fighting fake news! Actively working on removing misinformation from platform: YouTube - The Financial Express - July 27th, 2020 [July 27th, 2020]
- NOT REAL NEWS: A look at fake news that was shared on social media this week - WBTW - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- UK trade department to tackle 'fake news' with new rebuttal role - The Guardian - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Propaganda, fake news and disinformation on the internet could destroy us Susan Dalgety - The Scotsman - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- The news item "SPECIAL REPORT: Janez Jana's Newest Investment Scared the Government and Big Banks" is an online scam - Gov.si - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- Fake news and COVID-19, a neverending saga - The New Indian Express - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- People on social media more inclined to believe Coronavirus fake news: Study - India TV News - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- Our View: Fake news leaves a mess in its wake - The Times - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- A lot of people said its a fake issue: Trump confirms he didnt raise Russian bounties with Putin - POLITICO - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- Yes, Fake News Is a Problem. But Theres a Real News Problem, Too. - The New York Times - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- Dont bank on Britains foppish, lazy elites to save us from deep fakery - The Guardian - August 2nd, 2020 [August 2nd, 2020]
- Shipments of Belarusian ammunition to USA dismissed as fake news - Belarus News (BelTA) - August 2nd, 2020 [August 2nd, 2020]
- COVID-19 fake news: how to spot it and what locals are doing to stop it - LocalNews8.com - August 2nd, 2020 [August 2nd, 2020]
- Facebook Complies With Brazilian Judge's Order To Block 12 Accounts Accused Of Running A Fake News Network - Inventiva - August 3rd, 2020 [August 3rd, 2020]
- Heres one reason youre more likely to believe #fakenews and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 - MarketWatch - August 3rd, 2020 [August 3rd, 2020]
- Covid-19: Misinformation, fake news on coronavirus is proving to be contagious - Hindustan Times - August 3rd, 2020 [August 3rd, 2020]
- AI-Driven News and Social Credibility Tool Launches in US to Identify and Combat Fake News - PRNewswire - August 3rd, 2020 [August 3rd, 2020]
- We must teach students to navigate through misinformation, fake news: VP - Times of India - August 5th, 2020 [August 5th, 2020]
- Disha Salian's father says 'no truth' in reports of her involvement with politician: 'Stop tarnishing my daughter's reputation' - Hindustan Times - August 6th, 2020 [August 6th, 2020]
- Netflix's Fake-News Thriller 'The Hater' Is Way Too Real - WIRED - August 6th, 2020 [August 6th, 2020]
- Sensitive to claims of bias, Facebook relaxed misinformation rules for conservative pages - NBC News - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- FAQ: Why Brazil's Plan to Mandate Traceability in Private Messaging Apps Will Break User's Expectation of Privacy and Security - EFF - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- WhatsApp has done well to curb fake news, but social and messaging services need to invest more in tech - The Financial Express - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- WhatsApp brings new 'search the web' feature to curb fake news - Deccan Herald - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- Fake Twitter account of Manoj Sinha created to spread rumours; FIR lodged - The Tribune India - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- US President Trump tweets picture of him on Mt Rushmore, says reports of asking to be on it 'fake' - Deccan Herald - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Recruitment notice in our name to fill 5285 vacancies is fake: Ministry of Railways - Hindustan Times - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Badshah on being questioned by police in fake followers case: Ive categorically denied all the al... - Hindustan Times - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Swara Bhasker says Rhea Chakraborty subjected to dangerous media trial led by impulses of mob just... - Hindustan Times - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]