Shillong: Director General of Northeast Zone, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, B Narayanan, on Monday said that India’s Election Commission is a testament to a well-run election management body overseeing electoral processes.
“As an election observer in Karnataka, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh, I have witnessed various political parties attempting to manipulate public opinion through the media,” said B Narayanan. “However, the processes implemented by the Election Commission of India are robust enough to prevent these false practices,” he added.
The Director General was speaking at a media workshop called ‘Vartalap’ today in Shillong, which focused on the theme of ‘Media and Elections: Electoral Risk Management and Communication with Media’.
The Press Information Bureau in Shillong, along with the DIPR Meghalaya and the Shillong Press Club, organized this workshop in preparation in view of the upcoming elections in the state.
Narayanan discussed the challenges facing election management bodies in the current context, highlighting the intersection of their operations with social media platforms. He pointed out that while these platforms claim to have content display policies, they also wield significant “algorithm power.” In order to counter fake news and ensure credible electoral outcomes, Narayanan argued that a proactive approach is necessary to preserve the freedoms that social media platforms depend on.
Narayanan highlighted various emerging challenges in the conduct of elections, including the manipulation of the information environment. He emphasized the importance of vigilance in dealing with attempts to spread false information within the media sphere and noted that various concerned citizens’ groups, government agencies, and online fact-checking organizations are working together to fact-check these claims, particularly during times of crisis such as the ongoing pandemic.
During his address, Chief Electoral Officer FR Kharkongar emphasized the importance the Election Commission places on creating a conducive environment for free and fair elections in the state. He discussed the proactive role of media in ensuring the fairness of elections and stated that the Election Commission will work together to ensure a free and fair election in Meghalaya to be held in a couple of months.
The media are the eyes and ears of the Election Commission,” Kharkongar said. “We believe that they serve as a force multiplier and a catalyst for the delivery of a free and fair election. It is the responsibility of both the media and the Election Commission to ensure that the right narrative is projected, as elections are to a large extent a perception game,” he added.
Speaking on the effectiveness of EVMs, Kharkongar said that the commission has set ever-higher standards of efficient, smooth and professional conduct of elections and has been at the forefront of embracing, adopting and implementing the latest technological advancements in improving and fine-tuning the election processes and systems.
Director of DIPR (MCS) Malthus S Sangma acknowledged the proactive role played by the media in safeguarding the transparency of democratic processes, often referred to as its “watchdog” role. He emphasized the importance of transparency on multiple levels, including access to information, accountability and legitimacy of individuals and institutions, and the ability to participate and engage in public debate.
Senior journalist Anirban Roy gave a presentation on the ethical use of digital tools in disseminating information, with a focus on effective electioneering. He pointed out the potential for “fake social media narratives” to disrupt the free and fair conduct of elections around the world. “Gathering news has become challenging in this digital age,” he said.
“To keep up with rival media organizations and maintain speed, reporters often rely heavily on open-source information from sources like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp. However, this open-source information is not always authenticated and can sometimes be wrong or even fake. As a result, journalists can find themselves in trouble for writing information that may not be completely true,” Roy added.
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Roy expressed concern over the trend of disinformation in large democracies like India, particularly during elections. He emphasized that it is important for journalists to be able to handle this “disinformation war” by learning digital forensics skills, such as being able to identify fake photos, videos, and tweets, and using online tools to fact-check information. He suggested that journalists need to add the skill of digital forensics to their toolkit in order to effectively cover elections in the current media landscape.
Journalist Bikash Singh discussed the economics of elections and the provisions put in place by the Election Commission to address the negative impact of money on the electoral process. He mentioned that some parties have called for an increase in the expenditure limit, citing inflation as a justification. He also emphasized the importance of examining the economic impact of elections at various levels, from the impact on specific sectors to the individual benefits that voters and households may receive.
“It is worth looking at Indian election economics not just at the macro level, or in terms of the ‘white’ and ‘black’ economies, but also further down the chain, all the way from the impact on elections on specific sectors to election windfalls for individual voters and households,” the journalist said.
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