The term ‘fake news’ was named Collins Dictionary’s Official Word of the Year in 2017, highlighting the magnitude of the problem and the way it has impacted all aspects of our lives. Even though rumour-mongering during elections or even otherwise is far from a new phenomenon, fake news has influenced events in the 21st century so fundamentally because of the explosion of digital penetration and the business model of social media companies, which operate using revenue generated from advertisements.

In India, the most horrific manifestation of the impact of targeted misinformation has been the spate of vigilantism and mob lynchings. According to the Quint tracker, 92 people have been lynched since 2015, and the count rises every few months.

A November 2018 BBC study titled Duty, Identity, Credibility: Fake News and Ordinary Citizen in India explored the genesis of fake news and the machinery that generates it in exquisite detail. As many as 80 people were involved in the study spanning India, Nigeria and Kenya over a week. The BBC analysed their media consumption habits and how they used Facebook and WhatsApp on their phones for information from their online community.

The findings are horrendous when seen in the context of both elections and society in general. The report found that the people made little effort to find the source or verifiability of the shared content. This is because of the inherent confirmation biases that are an intricate part of human psychology. They thought their relatives and friends were trustworthy sources, and that served to exacerbate such a devastating phenomenon. A respondent’s remark summarises the entire argument: “My friend has sent this to me, why would he send anything fake to me?”

The report analysed Twitter, concluding that “right-leaning fake news spreads faster and wider than left-leaning fake news”. Fact-checking is neither a priority and nor is it easy if the web of information is so complex. One is being bombarded with a thousand stories every day, and how much can they verify? This is further compounded by the attractive messaging of the fake news messages, with inaccurate or often demonstrably biased portrayals of history, characters and events, which invoke intense emotions such as hypernationalism.

The report goes on to recommend some measures. It calls for the active involvement of all actors - platforms, media organisations, the corridors of power and the civil society to work together. The pace at which fake news spreads in the 21st century brings out the worst in people, and has the capacity for shaking the roots of democracy itself. Most importantly, it suggests that “journalists investigate further whether or not there is an organised ecosystem of fake news production and dissemination”. This is crucial, as there is sufficient proof that a majority of fake news is systematically targeted at voters and sympathisers by the IT wings of political parties.

This problem has posed incessant challenges to the Election Commission (EC) during the 2019 polls. Fake news is having a devastating effect, coupled with paid news on social media and violation of model code on digital platforms. Money power is being used in full swing to bombard voters with fake and paid news.

The problem was aptly summarised in the aftermath of the Balakot air strikes, when Trushar Barot, who heads Facebook India’s efforts to counter fake news, expressed his amazement on Twitter, saying that he had “never seen anything like this before”. It is reported that Facebook is removing as many as a million fake Indian accounts per day!

To stem the tide of poll violations and misuse, the EC announced many measures at a press conference held on March 11. For starters, all candidates have to disclose compulsorily their social media information in their nomination papers. The “silence period” shall come into force on social media as well, 48 hours before the polls. The rules of political advertising on digital platforms shall be the same as that on traditional news media. Only pre-certified advertisements will be accepted by Google, Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp and WeChat. The district and state-level media certification and monitoring committees will have a social media expert to monitor such content online.

The Internet and Mobile Association of India has submitted a Voluntary Code of Ethics for social media, which came into force on March 20. The code highlights the commitment of social media companies towards ensuring fair elections. In accordance with Section 126 of the Representation of People Act, 1951, social media companies shall implement “valid legal orders” of the EC by taking down objectionable content within three hours of notification. A “high priority dedicated notification” mechanism is being created for the purpose. WhatsApp has already started blocking or disabling chats for those mobile numbers that are proved to be spreading fake news and objectionable election-related content flagged by the EC.

A new service called Whatsapp Tipline has given a number to which users can send the information shared by their peers for verification. Facebook and Twitter have assured that they will put an online library of election ads in place in the public domain. Google has also announced its plans to launch an Advertising Transparency Report.

These are urgent and welcome developments, but the vagueness of the code presents an issue for something as sacrosanct as elections. For instance, there is no definition of fake news in the code. It does demonstrate the commitment of the social media giants “to provide an update on the measures taken by them to prevent abuse of their platforms”, but unfortunately, the magnitude of the issue of digital dissemination of misinformation and the its horrendous multiplier effects far exceed the measures that have been taken.

Fake news is a serious social issue in the 21st century, and must be treated as such at all times and not only during election season. At its worst, it is a boon for anti-social elements that are now being legitimised in the name of “free speech”. But “reasonable restrictions” call for strict action and penalisation of misinformation, which becomes life-threatening for certain communities. We can’t simply ignore this phenomenon just because rules might be “tougher” to implement for social media. Profit must come after people for social media companies, and their business model needs a rethink.

The content of messaging must be ethical, factual and legal. It should not violate laws, regulations or codes such as the Representation of People Act, the Indian Penal Code and the Model Code of Conduct. Hate speech doesn’t deserve a platform. Personal attacks or casteist and communal appeals need to be properly defined within the code as well. Unless we don’t define it, we can’t take decisive action against it.

As responsible voters and citizens, people must also become crusaders against misinformation. Fact-checking is essential before forwarding materials. All information must be taken with a pinch of salt, keeping in mind the business model of social media. It must be remembered at all times that if the service is free, you are the product. Only then can we emerge as an informed and stronger democracy in the era of disruptive technologies.

S.Y. Quraishi is former Chief Election Commissioner of India and the author of An Undocumented Wonder - the Making of the Great Indian Election. The views expressed here are personal.