"Fact-checking cannot be the State's job alone." Discuss the roles of platforms, institutions and citizens in countering misinformation.

In September 2026, social media rumours spread at Chitkara University (that students had died by suicide) and at LPU (that a student had been raped in a hostel). The rumours spread faster than the facts could be verified and led to violent campus protests [1]. Fast, local falsehoods like these show that State fact-checking is necessary but cannot work alone.

Why the State alone falls short

• Narrow mandate: the PIB Fact Check Unit covers only Central Government policies and schemes [2]. A rumour about a hostel lies outside its scope.
• Constitutional limits: in Kunal Kamra (2024), the Bombay High Court struck down the fact-check unit amendment. It held that the executive cannot be the final judge of what is "false" about its own work, citing Articles 14 and 19 [3].
• Speed gap: content is taken down hours after posting, but crowds gather within minutes.

Role of platforms

• Due diligence: under the IT Rules, 2021, platforms must exercise due diligence or lose Section 79 safe harbour [4].
• Fast removal and cooperation: MeitY's hoax bomb advisory asks platforms to remove hoaxes promptly, report threats and assist agencies within 72 hours [5]. The same approach should apply to rumours that threaten public order.
• Deepfakes: platforms should identify and label deepfakes and synthetic media [6], and add friction to mass forwarding.

Role of institutions

• Universities: each should name an officer who must issue a credible clarification quickly. At Chitkara, police declared the claims unfounded only after the violence [1].
• Police cyber cells as first responders: during the COVID lockdown, Maharashtra Cyber registered 161 cases of fake news and rumours and also ran awareness drives [7].
• Data: NCRB records "circulating false/fake news/rumours" as a separate crime head [8], which helps track repeat patterns.
• Media, independent fact-checkers and schools: they should spread digital literacy.

Role of citizens

• Pause before sharing: two former students started the Chitkara rumour, but many ordinary users spread it [1].
• Report and verify: use platform reporting tools and check official sources before reacting.
• Fundamental duty: Article 51A(h) asks citizens to develop a scientific temper, which is the habit that counters credulity.

Countering misinformation is a task for the whole of society: platforms limit spread, institutions provide trusted facts quickly, and citizens refuse to amplify. A co-regulatory model that combines criminal action against people who knowingly start rumours, transparent platform duties and mass digital literacy can protect public order without weakening Article 19(1)(a). It also advances SDG 16's goal of public access to reliable information.