The Kodaikanal Gandhi Prize 2021
Honourable mention
Pranvi Khare
Neev Academy, Bangalore
Response to: Gandhi’s philosophy of truth in practice led to India's motto,
‘Satyameva Jayate’ - ‘Truth Alone Triumphs’. What meaning does it have in an era of fake news? How would you restore this ideal in public opinion?
Contents
Abstract
Essay
Citations
Abstract
In this essay, the importance of digital literacy will be discussed in regards to relevance with Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi's two main principles "Satya or truth" and "Ahimsa or non violence". Satya will be the main focus of this essay, alongside fake news and its spread in India, additionally, solutions to bring Gandhi's principle of Satya back into our lives will also be discussed.
The example of Covid-19 will be discussed, and what could have been done by the people and governments to reduce the spread of misinformation about Coivd-19 and what might have happened if misinformation would have not spread to the extent it did.
*note in this essay, misinformation and fake news has been used interchangeably"
Essay
"Satyameva Jayate" or "Truth Alone Triumphs." is a statement popularised by Mahatma Gandhi, and it is also India's national motto. In the current day and age, we can see how this would be relevant. Media is our most influential source of knowledge and information; we have a large amount of trust in the media, we trust them as an authority to give the correct, truthful information. So when this media is manipulated, our knowledge is also manipulated. As a result of this media manipulation, and our extreme trust in the media, "Fake news" can spread like a wildfire- for example, who hasn't gotten a WhatsApp forward about how "hot water can cure all diseases", fake news not only comes from these messages but often figures of authority.
Gandhi's principle of "satya or truth" is crucial, that we know and, but how do we define Satya, how does Gandhi define Satya? According to the Times Now in a 2019 article, Gandhi defines truth as " is the relative truthfulness in word and deed, and the absolute truth - the ultimate reality. This ultimate truth is God and morality, and the moral laws and code - its basis." This means truth is the relative morality of a society based on morals laws such as telling the truth, being polite and of that sort. This truth is important because if we know the truth, we know what we are doing right, and what we can improve on.
Since this is the motto of India, this shows that India puts a large importance on truth, however, South Asia, specifically Bangladesh and India are also one of the most susceptible countries to fake news. India has 376.1 million active social media users and has WhatsApp as not only one of the most popular social media sites, but also as its main source of misinformation and fake news. This vicarious spread of fake news has led to multiple issues, according to Rahul Mukherji, who wrote a paper titled "Mobile witnessing on WhatsApp: Vigilante virality and the anatomy of mob lynching", where he states that "religious extremist groups" form groups on WhatsApp where they spread unsavoury misinformation about other religions. This creates faulty ideas about certain groups of people, which might not seem like anything right now, but in the long run create deep-rooted stigmas, which come about from a culture of fake news. An example of this is in 2013, a video fuelled communal riots (The Muzaffarnagar Riots).
It is to the extent, that fake news is oftentimes believed more often due to a phenomenon known as "Conformation Bias", which is when you believe in something that supports your argument. So for people, it is easier to believe something is true if it falls in line with their beliefs. This is how political parties and people in authority, like the Nazis and others can gain such large followings. This is something that is fundamentally wrong and goes against Gandhi's principle of "satya" as it is not truthful to spread misinformation.
Another factor that aids the spread of misinformation is digital literacy or the lack of it. According to Western Sydney University, digital literacy is "... having the skills you need to live, learn, and work in a society where communication and access to information is increasingly through digital technologies like internet platforms, social media, and mobile devices."This is an important factor because what digital literacy does is, makes the question and understand that, India is not one of the more digitally literate places, as it has a digital literacy rate of 38%, with the majority of that concentrating in urban areas with a non-agriculture based economy. This makes people living in rural areas, with a more agriculture-based economy more vulnerable to misinformation. An article by Hindustan times quotes "Most people struggle to reliably evaluate the quality of information they encounter online, even under the most ideal conditions,” said Andy Guess, assistant professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton University.
To solve this, and to bring back the idea of "Satyameva Jayate”, (the importance of truth), there are three main elements The most important thing is one, spreading awareness, two, spreading digital literacy, and three, efforts and laws put in place by the government to reduce and punish against acts of misinformation(thus creating fear about spreading misinformation). Digital literacy and awareness can be created and spread through campaigns by unbiased organisations and NGOs such as BOOM, which is a partner on Facebook and aims to reduce and fact check if the information being spread is wrong or not, however, this is not possible on platforms such as "WhatsApp" as the chats are end to end encrypted, which means that WhatsApp as an authority cannot see what is being sent or received by people, what this does is puts accountability on the person sending the text, rather than WhatsApp itself. To fix this, the problem would need to solve from the root up, so first awareness needs to be spread about the importance of not spreading misinformation and the consequences of what happens if misinformation is spread, second, NGOs and the government would need to collaborate to create programmes to spread digital literacy, this has to deal with people of all ages, as all of them are equally vulnerable to fall victim to false information, just as they have created programmes to spread education. Third, laws and consequences need to be put in place, to show that the government and people are serious about curbing the spread of misinformation. For example, Italy has included "Digital Literacy" as an (experimental) chapter for students, and India can follow suit and include it in a similar manner.
Before I conclude this essay, I want to drive in the importance of "truth" through a real event, that is prevalent today through the "Covid-19" pandemic. During this pandemic, misinformation is commonplace, from the start of the pandemic to the current times (a year and fiveish months). Most, if not all of the fake news that has come out around this time, is more emotion centric, rather than logic-based, which is not always a bad thing. Ofcom's study found that 44% of adults, in the UK, find it hard to distinguish misinformation from facts, and in India, the numbers are higher. A study done in early 2020 found in India, found that as the "janta curfew" was put into place, the number of pieces of media with misinformation increased from 10 in the first week of March (2020) to 60 in the first week of April (2021), out of this majority being about Covid, culture and politics It should be noted that this study did not cover all the instances of misinformation. Around the same time, a team of doctors, health workers and officials went to the neighbourhood of an infected man were attacked, after fake news came out about officials taking healthy men to experiment on. Another study found that 31% of Indian WhatsApp users use the app as their main source of Covid information, and only 50% of users fact check the information before they forward the messages, and another additional 13% just forward the message without fact-checking the same. It also found that people over the age of 65 were more vulnerable to misinformation and as result, were more likely to try home remedies that would not work. This can be a problem as this may cause them to not accept medical treatment, and spread this (as an authority) to younger generations, who are likely to believe their parents and grandparents. If this misinformation about Covid, and more recently the vaccines had not come out, people would likely be less sceptical of official sources that outline the danger of the virus as the alternative, that is the virus is fake or of that sort, would not exist, and would have been more helpful in reducing the spread of the virus.
As I write this essay, almost two months before the 152nd Gandhi Jayanti, when a pandemic of both, a deadly virus and misinformation exists Gandhi's principles of "Satyameva Jayate" remains increasingly important. It shows that truth is the only way to win, it is a key way too as a country reduce inequality and the spread of pandemics. It shows that if misinformation is spread, it can lead ways to other problems, but if the truth is told, yes it may be harsh, but it will also show how we can improve, as the truth will lead to feedback and active participation from the public, and this feedback will help improve the future, but if this is not present, there are voices that may never be heard because of the flood of misinformation. Gandhi worked hard to give us freedom and was a proponent of social equality, and if we want to continue to walk in the direction of social equality, Gandhi’s definition of truth, which is based on morals, will guide us, because morals help in providing an opportunity of a way of living that is fair to all.
"Satyameva Jayate is a way to battle the spread of injustice and disease, and a way to stay connected to our past, and improve our present and future”
Citations
Additional information Notes on contributor Rahul Mukherjee:
Rahul Mukherjee is the Dick Wolf Assistant Professor of Television and New Media and Assistant Professor of English at University of Pennsylvania. He has published on environmental media. “Mobile Witnessing ON WHATSAPP: Vigilante Virality and the Anatomy of Mob Lynching.” Taylor & Francis, 2020
Salve, Prachi. “Manipulative Fake News on the Rise in India under Lockdown: Study.” Indiaspend, 3 May 2020 www.indiaspend.com/manipulative-fake-news-on-the-rise-in-india-under- lockdown-study/
“Truth and Non-Violence – the Twin Pillars of Gandhian Thought.” Latest News by Times Now News www.timesnownews.com/india/article/truth-and-non-violence-the-twin-pillars-of- gandhian-thought/ 491610#:~:text=Photo%20Credit%3A%20BCCL-,Mahatma%20Gandhi,non%2Dviolence %20implies%20uttermost%20selflessness.
“What Is Digital Literacy?” Western Sydney University
www.westernsydney.edu.au/studysmart/ home/study_skills_guides/digital_literacy/what_is_digital_literacy
“Why Fear and Fake News Are Slowing India's Covid-19 Recovery.” Forbes India, ForbesIndia, www.forbesindia.com/article/healthtech-special/why-fear-and-fake-news-are-slowing- indias-covid19-recovery/69375/1.
About the author Gianfranco Polizzi
Dr Gianfranco Polizzi is a Research Fellow in the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham, et al. “Fake News, Covid-19 and Digital Literacy: Do What the Experts Do.” Media@LSE, 17 June 2020, blogs.lse.ac.uk/medialse/2020/06/17/fake-news-covid-19-and-digital-literacy-do-what-the- experts-do/.
Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. “Mohandas Gandhi on the Meaning of Truth.” Berkley Center For Religion, Peace and World Affairs, berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/quotes/mohandas-gandhi-on-the-meaning-of-truth.
Buchholz, Katharina, and Felix Richter. “Infographic: COVID & WhatsApp Cause Surge of Fake News in India.” Statista Infographics, 8 June 2021
www.statista.com/chart/25031/ covid-19-misinformation-on-whatsapp-india/
Dogra, Rajiv. “'Satyamev Jayate:' the Many Splendours of Truth.” DNA India, 10 May 2012
www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-satyamev-jayate-the-many-splendours-of- truth-1686742
“Here's Why It's Important to Be Digitally Literate and Avoid Spread of Misinformation.” Hindustan Times, 24 June 2020
www.hindustantimes.com/more-lifestyle/here-s-why-it-s-
important-to-be-digitally-literate-and-avoid-spread-of-misinformation/story- QuKTuKCYNR8fUVkI8wRkEM.html.
https://www.drishtiias.com/pdf/1584990847-the-problem-of-fake-news-in-india-issues-concerns- and-regulation.pdf
https://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/obj%20of%20truth.htm
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