MUMBAI: The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision of urging media to take up against fake news menace revolving around the novel coronavirus in social media.

Supreme Court on 31 March had ordered that the media should report responsibly and weed out any fake news in social media while telecasting news on the Coronavirus crisis.

According to an official press statement, “NBA appreciates that the apex court has acknowledged the freedom of the press and has stated that it does not intend to interfere with the free discussion, debate and coverage about the pandemic.”

NBA also stated that it is pleased to learn that a daily bulletin by the government of India through all media avenues including social media and forums will be made available to clear the doubts of people. This would help media immensely to clarify their doubts and enable them to do accurate reporting.  

The Supreme Court had asked the media to refer to an official portal, which will be created by the government within 24 hours to deal with updated corona related developments, and publish the official version about the developments.

A bench led by chief justice of India SA Bobde had said: “We do not intend to interfere with the free discussion about the pandemic, but direct the media refer to and publish the official version about the developments.”

The order came on a submission by the government blaming fake news for the migrant exodus and seeking a court direction to deal with the menace. Over 1600 positive cases have been confirmed in India and around 35 killed due to the pandemic.