Daily Times

Sir: There is a noticeable upsurge in fake news in the media, in both Pakistan and India. The media in Pakistan has largely been focused on promoting the character assassinations of political rivals, and the misogyny that exists in our political sphere. The Indian media on the other hand has used the unpredictable political scenario in Pakistan and the precarious pre-election situation in the country to concoct completely misleading stories about its neighbor to the West.

While most avid readers could easily identify a piece of fake news from reality, it is getting harder and harder with every passing day. However there are some ways you can ensure that this does not happen to you. Always question every piece of news you see, and ask yourself how plausible it is, or better yet, check with other sources to confirm.

The sources of this information are also important and you can use Press Trust of India, Indo-Asian News Service, Samachar Bharti, United News of India, United Press Association, Asian News International, Cable News Network, and Islamic Republic News Agency to name a few. At times, certain critics of Pakistan have also been used to spread fake news, like Hussain Haqqani, Arnaud de Borchgrave, Selig Harrison, and others. If you can’t find any credible sources, then rest assured that there is something off about the information you just received. It can even be a sign of the involvement of the Indian intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and we need to be watchful of such pieces of news.

MARYUM

Islamabad

Published in Daily Times, June 23^rd 2018.