ITANAGAR, Jun 6: The Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ) has constituted a six-member fact-checking committee (FCC) within the union.
The committee will be led by Arunachal Press Club (APC) president and editor-in-chief of The Dawnlit Post, Dodum Yangfo. Its members include associate editor of the Independent Review and national executive committee member of the Indian Journalists Union from Arunachal, Taya Bagang; associate editor of The Arunachal Pioneer and auditor of the APUWJ, Damien Lepcha; DY365 correspondent and former president of the Arunachal Electronic & Digital Media Association (AEDMA), Mukul Pathak; APUWJ Gender Council convenor and proofreader at The Arunachal Times, Nellie Manpoong; and Echo of Arunachal subeditor and APUWJ treasurer, Appu Gapak.
The FCC is entrusted with verifying information reported by media houses associated with the APC, the APUWJ, and the AEDMA.
The committee is empowered to conduct suo moto fact-checking exercise on any news or article that has potentially misleading content telecast and published by the associated media members, within a stipulated timeframe.
Stressing the importance of having the FCC in the union, APUWJ president Amar Sangno said, “The role of the APUWJ is not only to organize the working journalists of the state into a united force and strive for freedom of the press, but also to ensure that the highest standards of professional conduct and integrity are maintained.”
Sangno further stated: “Currently we are inundated by fake news, misinformation and disinformation on social media, and by many of our own media outlets registered with us.”
The APUWJ has constituted the FCC to ensure unbiased dissemination of information, he said.
APUWJ general secretary Ranju Dodum opined that media bodies cannot regulate or stop the spread of fake contents.
“However, fact-checking within the media houses will help to curb misinformation or unverified news content, in addition to generating awareness on responsible journalism,” he said.
Dodum expressed hope that the formation of the FCC would help in “building a renewed sense of responsibility among the media outlets in stemming unverified news spread, and foster credibility.”
