Paid news’ might have assumed alarming proportions for the Election Commission of India yet there are minute loopholes in the monitoring setup created to filter out news items published allegedly to influence voters especially belonging to a particular linguistic group. For, about half a dozen para-teachers deputed to filter paid news monitoring hits the roadblock the moment they come across Urdu newspapers.
The para-teachers on the job had to wait for someone proficient in Urdu before they can proceed with the job of identifying news for the purpose of classification into paid or otherwise. The monitoring cell usually has the task of scanning four Urdu newspapers, besides Hindi and English newspapers.
“There is no one to scan the news content of Urdu newspaper,” said a para-teacher at the monitoring cell.
Nonetheless, the persons on the job submit about 15 news clippings including those from Urdu newspapers each day. The district administration claims to have deputed person for screening Urdu news content however people deputed at the monitoring room is rarely seen and even those gleaming through the newspaper for entire day hardly know about such a person.
“There are people who keep an eye on the advertisement published in Urdu newspapers though,” said DPRO Ranchi, Paltu Mahto.
The strict monitoring to catch news intended for influencing voters appears to be done with a small escape route inadvertently created in the absence of someone well versed in the language that is spoken by a sizable population that holds the power to put parties in government or keep away from forming a government.
Despite the seriousness of the business people entrusted with the responsibility are discharging their duty without any proper training, as they claim, and use qualitative judgment to sort out news which intends to influence voters to vote for a candidate or political party in assembly elections. The pitch of news serves as the only indication of the content’s purpose-news or paid news.
“No training has been provided. We have only been informed that if a news item exalts a candidate or if a content’s tone is such that it either makes appeal to vote in favour of a candidate or party then that particular news will come under the category of paid news,” said another para-teacher at the media monitoring cell.
Incidentally, as per the directives issued by Election Commission of India if a news eulogizes a party , candidate or denigrates opponents or both intended at unduly influencing voters falls under the category of ‘paid news’. The directive that was issued in June 2010 also emphasizes on ‘circumstantial evidences’ which is obtained by collecting similar political news published in one or more newspapers with cosmetic modifications to ascertain use of money to get such news published in newspapers.
“We have told them (monitoring staffs) to come to us in case of confusion about news content. Moreover a suspected news item is examined by three committees at district, state and national level before an action could be initiated,” maintained the DPRO.