‘Free, independent media cornerstones of health democracy’

Our Correspondent
Kohima, Aug. 11 (EMN): The Consul General, US Consulate Kolkata, Melinda Pavek on Thursday said free and independent media are the cornerstones of a healthy democracy and cautioned against the adverse impact of information asymmetry with respect to undermining people’s trust in democratic institutions.

She was speaking at a two-day workshop aimed at training media practitioners and journalists to discern and respond to deceptive, biased or false news, at American Centre in Kolkata.

In this regard, she mentioned the Digital Communication Network (DCN) established by the United States. The DCN is a network of more than 8,000 journalists, educators, communicators, new media professionals, and public officials who are working to combat disinformation and propaganda.  The network develops and shares tools that provide people with accurate information and fact-checking capabilities, a press release stated.

She added that the United States is working on developing, strengthening, and integrating more such networks across the Indo-Pacific region to promote media literacy, popularise fact checking, and support press freedom. 

Director of American Center Kolkata, Adrian Pratt pointed out that information is largely free but also showed a surge of misinformation and disinformation. He highlighted the role of digital technology in bolstering people’s access to information in real time from across the globe.

Bipul Chatterjee, Executive Director, CUTS, underlined the issue of information literacy among journalists as a critical step for combating mis/disinformation.

He underlined the need for disseminating correct information about the US-led initiative of building an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). He mentioned that often the IPEF is viewed solely as a tool for extending market access by the US. Such incomplete narratives often overshadow the other pillars of the IPEF namely regional security and climate change, he added. He concluded by highlighting the role of civil society organisation in the Indo-Pacific in creating information literacy among various stakeholder groups, including the media.   

Nilova Roy Chaudhary, General Secretary, SAWM, shared about the challenges being faced by women journalists in south Asia. She mentioned that such challenges range from misogyny, trolling to misinformation. She emphasised the need for establishing cross-border collaboration among women journalists in the Indo-Pacific region as a tool for combating the harassment of women journalists in the workplace.

Susan Kreifels, Media Programmes Manager, East West Center, argued that combating misinformation was not a one-time exercise and required long-term effort and investment. She cited various reports indicating loss of people’s trust in media on account of misinformation and stressed the need to call out and prosecute actors who bombard society with misleading information.

Around 60 women journalists from different countries including US and Indo-Pacific region like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, are participating in the workshop.

A panel discussion was held on ‘disinformation and geopolitical stability in the Indo-Pacific region’ with Suhasini Haider, diplomatic editor, The Hindu; Mrinal Chatterjee, regional director, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Odisha; Priyadarshini Sen, freelance journalist; Monideepa Banerjee, former executive editor, NDTV as Panelists.

The US Consulate General Kolkata, in partnership with Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) with the support of South Asian Women in Media (SAWM) and East West Center (EWC), is hosting the workshop.