Online Information in Nepal: Deceiving and Unreliable Journalism
Nowadays online information is deceiving and unreliable. The essay explores the urgent issue of journalism in Nepal as the growing media here is not trustworthy. This is because the journalists are publishing incorrect information which is not verified. Most of those sources are anonymous and fabricated that end of spreading in social media on large scale.
Studies by Media Action Nepal show that out of 1,817 news items, 3.70% are false news. According to Pant, the media in Nepal is going through a catastrophe of trust. The amount of trust we show to the doctors can never be compared to that of Journalists. But even the minimum principle 'do no harm' is not being followed by the Nepali media. Nepali Journalists are also accused of misusing press authority and using media as personal revenge. There is no proper monitoring and analysis of the contents shared by different Nepali media that is causing a failure in recognizing the false news. There is a lack of proper training and investment required to produce professional journalists in the Media houses of Nepal. Thus, media houses should provide proper training and invest in this sector. A journalist needs to follow the journalist's principles and avoid publishing disinformation. To prevent this, the sources, misinformation, misleading headlines, disinformation, social diversity, obscenity, defamatory content, and content against privacy must be identified. The sources must be disclosed. The news headlines that are used to draw attention without proper information and disinformation about religion, gender with a purpose of discrimination must be prohibited. Therefore, this source shows the current media situation of Nepal. It also shows the static percentage of false news that's been circulating in the country. The problem in sources of Nepali media that is causing trust crisis and its possible solutions are mentioned.
The Issue of Digital Disinformation in Nepal
According to UNESCO publications, misinformation or fake news is intentionally created to harm a person, social group, organization, or country. The political situation in Nepal has been a severe contradiction in recent years. The political parties are splitting resulting in bad relationships between political leaders. The remarks made by a political leader to another are being published in social media that has no logic or truth behind them. The citizens are being deprived of getting the correct information. Due to multiple changes of system in Nepal, there is dissatisfaction among the opposition and creating disinformation to brainwash people using media and many journalists are supporting that. Thus, the media sector should not be manipulated by the higher authorities and the journalists should not cooperate with them. The citizens are also not questioning the sources and their originality that is letting the publishers keep on spreading that news. This source is beneficial because it shows the reasons for journalists spreading fake news. It gives information on the current political situation of Nepal and why false information about political sectors is being published. Lack of digital literacy is also mentioned which is the cause of people believing anything they found on the internet.
The journalists of Nepali media are serving the political and business interests risking the media and not following the watchdog role. The constitution laws and political leaders are showing as if they support the freedom and security of journalists but the threats and violence against them continue to arise. The lawmakers are not giving priority to fundamental rights and freedom to share correct information. According to South Asia Check and Nepal Fact Check, the information published by the Nepali media about infection of COVID-19, vaccines, privacy, and political information are creating confusion and misleading news to the readers. The information provided by the journalists must be good information to the public that can be shared internationally. It is important for a journalist not to associate with the political and different organization that tries to manipulate them. There is also a lack of awareness about the role and fundamental freedoms of journalists to the public. Therefore, this source gives information about how politics and journalism are being associated in a harmful way that is causing a threat to the journalists' freedom and rights. The information on serious issues like the recent pandemic due to covid-19 are incorrectly published creating panic among the readers. The source also suggests that journalists must provide helpful information and the public also must be aware of the journalism roles and how it is being implemented in the country.
An Overview of Nepal News Media: Its Challenges and Prospects
The news media in Nepal has been suffering from unprofessional practices such as plagiarism and misinformation. For example, one of the Nepali newspapers published an advertisement for a soap that contained animal fats but there was no information regarding the advertiser or the company that deprived citizens' right to information. Contents that are not authorized from a media are used as content for another website which is a serious issue of Nepali media. For example, television channels and radio stations use other content by modifying and making it seem as if it is written by them. Most of the media houses are being used as a political mission for their benefit. The owners of media are encouraged for private benefits rather than growing professionally. This is leading to poor-quality content. This source is helpful because it gives information about the difficulties faced by the Nepal media and journalists. The inappropriate information was shared in the national newspapers and still, no actions are taken regarding that matter. Information about plagiarism between one content to another among the media houses.
Fake information that is used as news has been a serious issue in many countries. It is polluting the information that gets to the public and tries to manipulate people. This kind of activity leads to less trust in mainstream media and grows disinformation that further leads to more problems. False information addresses numerous precise problems inside media and journalism studies, together with objectivity, bias, and journalistic authority. The reason behind fake news has been stated as political or economic motives. It covers the real information and spreads conspiracy theories or other related materials that cause people to believe through emotional appeals. Some news stories are created by political authorities for their benefits that give a false perception to the public. These kinds of news are only used to attract readers rather than provide information and it will only help them promote private gains.
Summary Thoughts
Fake news is published as fabricated information that looks like a real news article to make it seem like legit information, but its only intention is to deceive people. The main motivation behind fake news is political, financial, and social issues. The ability of fake news and disinformation to permeate social realms determines their power. Fake news production has become more democratized because of technological advancements. It becomes more difficult to distinguish between fake and trusted information when supposedly anyone can publish false material that appears to be news and spread it to big numbers of people online. This source explains the fake news and how it is being used by journalists. The reason behind the increasing amount of false information is due to higher power authority that is manipulating the media further public. The main motive of fake news is not to provide information but to persuade people and change their perceptions. It also describes how technologies are causing fake news to circulate quickly and reach more people causing serious concerns.
