The district administration in Baramulla has ordered the journalists in the north Kashmir district to submit their details to the concerned authority within seven days.
The development came a day after a local journalist filed an RTI application at District Information Office asking them to provide the monetization details of the Facebook page titled “DC BARAMULLA”.
“Kindly furnish information as to if the Facebook Page titled” DC BARAMULLA” has been monitized, if yes, it’s MONITIZATION ACCOUNT Number, MONITIZATION Details and the amount so far collected by way of the online Advertisements and if the amount collected hasn’t been WITHDRAWN HOW much AMOUT has accumulated in the account,” asked the RTI filed by one local journalist.
The district administration in Baramulla, in its order, said that the office receives multiple complaints from the general public about the unethical reporting, fake news and misinformation by the citizen journalists due to the mushrooming growth of so called journalists, thereby disturbing the “peace and harmony” in the community.
Whereas, it has come to the notice of this office that individuals resort to citizen journalism and attempt to record the live streaming of accidental deaths/ suicidal cases despite blanket ban on such recordings/ reporting, read the order.
Whereas, Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) has a mandate as envisaged in JK Media Policy 2020 to de-empanel any individual or group indulged in dissemination of misinformation through the use of social media platforms besides preceding against any reporter for unethical, fake news or anti-national activities under the provisions of IPC and Cyber Laws, the district administration said in its order.
“Whereas, this office has a mandate that there shall be no release of media briefing/ advertisement to any media outlet which tends to incite violence through the dissemination of misinformation or violating the accepted norms of public decency and behavior,” read the official order of District administration Baramulla.
In order to check the media manipulation and to regulate the mushrooming growth of “self styled journalists” in Baramulla district, all the media persons of the district are hereby directed to submit authority letters from their respective organizational heads within a period of seven days so that this office will proceed ahead for further codal formalities, the order read.