Srinagar: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has directed officers to take strict action against fake journalists operating in Jammu & Kashmir and to ensure that only bona fide media professionals are recognised and engaged by government departments, official said.
According to officials privy to the meeting, the issue of “fake journalists” was discussed during yesterday’s high-level review meeting chaired by the Lieutenant Governor in Srinagar. The matter, which had also figured in the recently concluded autumn session of the Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly, drew serious concern from the administration.
“The LG was categorical that those misusing the name of journalism must face the law. He directed all Deputy Commissioners and SSPs to take concrete steps to identify such elements and weed them out from the system,” a senior official present said.
The Lieutenant Governor is learned to have also instructed the officers to work jointly to prepare a verified database of accredited and active journalists in every district. Departments have also been told to entertain only those media representatives whose credentials are duly verified by the DIPR.
The Lieutenant Governor further directed that individuals or groups running Facebook pages, online news portals, or social media handles under the banner of journalism must be duly registered and verified by the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR). He emphasized that such digital media platforms must be made accountable for the content they publish and should function strictly within the bounds of media ethics and lawful reporting.
Officials said the move comes amid growing complaints that certain individuals posing as journalists were misusing media identification cards or social media platforms to intimidate officials and extract favours. Several legislators in the recent Assembly session had also raised this concern and sought a mechanism to curb the menace.
“The government values the role of genuine journalists who report with integrity and responsibility,” another senior officer said. “However, action against those bringing disrepute to the profession is inevitable.”
Earlier, the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) JK directed all District Information Officers in Kashmir to intensify vigilance against fake journalists. (KDC)
