Satyamev Jayate : Kerala Digital Literacy Campaign
- The Kerala government has launched a digital media literacy Campaign called ‘Satyamev Jayate’ to tackle the threat of fake news.
- Schools and colleges will be made aware of this program so that they can be encouraged to develop a curriculum on digital media literacy.
Key Facts :
This program consists of five points:
- What is wrong information?
- Why are they spreading fast?
- What precautions need to be taken when using social media content?
- How do fake news spreaders make a profit?
- What steps can be taken by citizens?
Satyamev Jayate: National Emblem of India
- Satyamev Jayate is the national Emblem of India. It means Truth Alone Triumphs. It is inscribed in the Devanagari script under the national emblem of India.
- It was adopted as the national Emblem of India on 26 January 1950 after independence.
- This emblem is taken from the crest of the lion pillar built by Emperor Ashoka in 250 BCE at Sarnath near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, but this motto is not present there.
- ‘Satyamev Jayate’ is the well-known mantra of Mundaka -Upanishad.
The complete mantra is as follows:
“Satyamevjayatenanritam ,satyenapanthavitatodevayanah yenakramantyrsayohyaptakama, yatra tat satyasyaparamamnidhanam”
That is, ultimately the truth prevails, not the untrue. This is the path through which Aptakam (whose wishes are fulfilled) achieves the ultimate goal of human life.
- Madan Mohan Malaviya played an important role in bringing ‘Satyamev Jayate’ to the national platform and promoting it.
- The Czech Republic and its predecessor Czechoslovakia also have the same meaning as the motto “Pravda Vitezi” (“Truth Wins”).
What is fake NEWS?
Fake news is a kind of yellow journalism. Under this, there are acts like propagating in favor of someone and spreading false news. Attempting to damage the image of a person or organization or inciting people through false news against him is fake news. Increasing click readership and online sharing through fake headlines, sensational and false news, also fall under the category of fake news. Fake news is different from any satire or parody, as they are intended to entertain their readers, while fake news is intended to mislead the readers.
Challenges:
- Fake news is a type of false information, which is presented as news. Often it is intended to damage the reputation of an individual or organization or to earn money through advertising revenue.
- Since the spread in print and digital media, the spread of fake news has increased due to social media and carriers, and fake news can reduce the impact of real news and replace it.
- Political polarization, post-truth politics, confirmation bias, and social media have been implicated in the spread of fake news. It has been observed that the spread of fake news in India is mostly in political and religious matters.
- Fake news spread through social media has become a serious problem in the country, due to which incidents of mob violence have also been seen.
Measures to control fake news:
- Often, the government uses ‘internet shutdown’ as a way to prevent the spread of rumors circulating on social media.
- To counter the problem of ‘fake news, many experts have also suggested the idea of linking ‘Aadhaar’ with a social media account.
- In some parts of India, such as Kannur in Kerala, the government is conducting classes for awareness of ‘fake news’ in government schools.
- Several other public-education initiatives are being planned by the government to make the common people more aware of the false news
- Many fact-checking websites have come up in India to check the truth of ‘fake news, through which the truth of any news can be easily known.
Source – PIB, The Hindu
