The world is far from a realm of absolute fairness. The truths that surround us, explaining how our world and its systems operate, are not always grounded in facts. They are often the result of selective information, systematic omissions, and manipulations designed to divert public attention from the genuine reality. In the past, we called this propaganda, but today it masquerades conveniently as marketing and communication. Nearly every industry invests substantial sums to maintain visibility and relevance in the market, and if that entails ‘purchasing’ or ‘manipulating’ the truth, it’s often considered an acceptable trade-off. This isn’t meant to convey cynicism or express a subjective opinion.
Our “Jankari” campaign addresses the disinformation problem, nurturing a culture of seeking truth and genuine knowledge in society.
The dictionary defines “disinformation” as “false information deliberately and often covertly spread (such as by planting rumors) to influence public opinion or obscure the truth.”
Disinformation is not a novel phenomenon; we’ve long been exposed to propaganda, tabloid news, and satirical reporting. However, in our contemporary era, with our heavy reliance on the internet, the promotion of trending stories on social media, and new methods of monetizing content, we have all become unwittingly complicit in promoting information. For instance, consider the unchecked proliferation of WhatsApp forwards. A single story posted on a personal blog or a commercial website can go viral within seconds, and it can have detrimental consequences, especially given how easily available tools for morphing, modifying, and distorting content through various designs and Photoshop have become. The original authors may be fully aware that the story is false, but in the absence of any filtering or content inspection, the story often takes on a life of its own, goes viral, and damages civil society. This not only fosters hostility among communities or individuals but also tarnishes the reputation of legitimate media. Regardless of how detached we may try to be from such information, it inevitably affects us in unpredictable ways. Furthermore, it is often nearly impossible to ascertain whether an article is genuine or misinformed and whether it should be shared or ignored.
Social media has not only made information inaccurate but also highly unreliable. Individuals are being compensated for ‘manufacturing’ information, and automated campaigns, often referred to as bots, can publish auto-generated fake news. The motivations behind the creation and dissemination of fake news are as varied as individual opinions.
With our “Jankari” campaign, we are dedicated to combating this perilous trend that has become a scourge of our times. To this end, we conduct awareness sessions in schools, colleges, and corporate settings, where we shed light on disinformation and how it operates. We aim to simplify this complex yet vital concept for our fellow citizens so that the pursuit of genuine knowledge becomes not a liability but a way of life.
Furthermore, we emphasize the urgent need to address this issue and teach civil societies how they can contribute positively to combating disinformation and the distortion of facts.