AP Government Eyes On False News, G.O. Released

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday has decided to release Government Order ( G.O. No.938) to curb the spread of false news in the media after a state cabinet meeting held on Wednesday.

The G.O. empowers secretaries concerned to initiate legal action against the media if it published "false news" which could "hamper the progress of the state."

Legal action can be initiated against defamatory news spread with malafide interest in print, electronic and social media.

G.O. No.938 was first issued on February 20, 2007 during Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy's tenure.

Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting,Information and Public Relations Minister Perni Venkataramaiah said the secretaries concerned would be delegated full powers to file appropriate court cases within 24 hours against the organisation for the news item published or telecast or posted in any print, electronic or social media.

The Andhra Pradesh Information and Public Relations Department Commissioner was empowered to file the cases.

Social media was newly included in the list of media as it did not exist in 2007.

The minister said the reason for implementing this GO was that undesirable news would bring down the morale of the implementing agency, department and officer, end up leading to poor performance, ultimately hampering the progress of the state.

Minister Perni Venkataramaiah said that the government decided to empower the secretaries to file cases since they have thorough knowledge of legal procedures and the expertise to judge the veracity of such news.

The Minister said that there was a section of the print, electronic, and social media who were deliberately trying to tarnish the image of the government by spreading false news with malafide interest.

Also Read: AP CMO Condemns Yellow Media Reports On YS Jagan-KCR Meeting