Parliament panel wants government to define 'fake news'
A parliamentary committee in New Delhi is asking the government to finally spell out what counts as "fake news."
Right now, the term gets tossed around a lot, and big media groups and editors can't agree on a definition.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has been urged to find a fair balance—stopping misinformation without hurting free speech.
PIB's fact check unit should be given more power
The committee also suggests giving more authority to the PIB's Fact Check Unit, which handles tons of queries (over 1.63 lakh from April 2020 to April 2025) but can't actually enforce anything yet.
They want an independent group—including both media and government reps—to oversee how misinformation is tackled across platforms, plus updates to old laws like the IT Act.
Stronger penalties for fake news are on the table too, but all changes should respect free speech rights.