Govt issues advisory for social media platform to curb false news on coronavirus COVID-19

In the wake of the alarming situation due to the outbreak of coronavirus in the country the Indian government has issued advisory for all social media platforms to take responsibility of misinformation related to coronavirus on their feeds, and ensure that they don't spread any false news which could create panic among the mass. 

The advisory reads, ''The Corona virus (Coved-19) outbreak has become a global concern with World Health Organisation declaring it a global health emergency. Countries across the world are trying their best to mitigate the spread of corona virus. However, it has been reported in media that there is a trend of circulation of misinformation/false news and sharing anonymous data related to Corona virus in various social media platforms creating panic among public.''

Government has also asked social media platforms to initiate awareness campaign on their platforms for the users, take immediate action to disable content which spreads such informtaion and it has further asked websites to promote dissemination of authentic information related to corona virus as far as possible. 

The advisory bounds the social media companied to follow the regulations under Section 2111(w) of the Information Technology Act, saying, ''Social media platforms are intermediaries as defined under section 2111(w) of the Information Technology Act. 2000 and are required to follow due diligence as prescribed in the Information Technology (intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2071 notTied under section 79 of the IT Act. ''

Amid the rising coronavirus cases across the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday announced a large global trial, called SOLIDARITY, to find out if any drug or drug combination can treat the infections caused by the deadly virus.

In order to prevent circulation of misleading information some social media platforms like WhatsApp are also launching official helpline through which it should be easier for users to access factual information.